Cherry Bomb
by FlutteringShadows
Summary: After Detroit Rock City, the band Mystery has decided to work towards their new dream: opening for Kiss. But what happens when Lex's childhood friend, Sherrie, comes back to Cleveland and makes him question his relationship with Christine? Lex x OC, Hawk x OC, Jam x Beth
1. School Days

Hey there, this originally started off as a one-shot that I was going to lump together with a bunch of other one-shots but instead it turned into a full-fledged story. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, thanks for reading!

Warning: strong language, mention of drug use

Disclaimer: I do not own Detroit Rock City...only Sherrie and my other OCs! And yes, the chapter title is taken from The Runaways song of the same name.

Chapter 1

School Days

Cleveland, Ohio, December 1978

It was the last day of school before Christmas break at Robert F. Kennedy High School as the student body practically rushed to their selected methods of transportation. The school halls were empty in a matter of seconds as the school bell rang, leaving behind nothing but torn sports banners and confetti from the recent pep rally. Among the stragglers were the aspiring band members of Mystery, a Kiss tribute band.

Jam, the drummer of their band, sat on a bench in the designated smoking area of RFK High, surrounded by his band mates as he looked at his friend, Sherrie's, report card. It was the end of the semester and their band had big plans for the winter break, they had finally gotten a few gigs performing at bars and birthday parties, nothing huge, but for a high school band, it was to be expected. Trip, a known slacker and delinquent, had announced to everyone at the beginning of the semester that he was going to start taking school a little more seriously, he had said that his eyes had been opened to the idea in Detroit, something that made Hawk and the others laugh uncontrollably. But believe it or not-with help from Jam-Trip had come through with straight C's, something that was unheard of for the reefer head. Sherrie and the others had looked at him in awe and had even applauded him. Now Sherrie waited for her moment of truth, looking at Jam with trepidation, her hands clasped together anxiously as she looked over her test scores with him. Jam was eager to know if his tutoring had helped her and had asked for the yellow slip of paper the moment she arrived. Unfortunately, he was oblivious to the hesitation in her movements when she'd handed it to him. She bit her cherry lips, frown lines forming on her face as she read, '_100 in English, 98 in Physical Education and...'_

"You got a 30 in math!?" Jam exclaimed as he looked over Sherrie's test scores. Sherrie smiled sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed, especially after Jam had taken time out of practicing his drums to help her study for her midterms.

"Well maybe, but I've got a whole 'nother semester to make it up before it actually counts right?" She heard Hawk chuckle beside her as he patted Trip on the back, exhaling a trail of cigarette smoke as he did so,

"Congratulations Einstein!" He said to Trip, "Your math scores are higher than Cherry's!" Sherrie balked at Hawk's use of her oh-so-endearing nickname as Trip pumped both fists in the air,

"Yeah! Alright man, I'm not the dumbest!" Trip cheered. "I'm gonna celebrate with a bag of shrooms when I get home man!" Lex looked down his nose at Sherrie, more than a little perturbed as a look of disbelief came over his face,

"Now you're the dumbest! How the hell do you score lower than this pothead? He used to sleep through all of his classes for fucksake!" He scolded her, sounding genuinely angry. Lex was always prone to nervous outbursts, so it didn't upset her in the least, though she did feel a sense of disappointment in herself for making him worry about her, she often countered those sort of feelings with a smart-ass remark or two.

"How you ask? Oh it's quite easy-" Jam interrupted Sherrie's comeback with,

"Sherrie, if you hope to make it through next semester you're going to have to work twice as hard and learn the material you didn't learn this semester on top of the material you have to learn next semester." He said seriously. Sherrie pouted, slumping her shoulders in defeat,

"Oh, how am I supposed to do that? We've finally got some gigs and I have to spend winter break doing math homework?" Jam nodded,

"Yeah, if you hope to pass your junior year in high school." He said matter-of-factly, causing Sherrie to sigh dramatically, easy for him to say, Jam had straight A's. "I tried to help you with this stuff but maybe I wasn't explaining it in a way you could understand?" He asked, feeling guilty, "Maybe if Lex and I put our heads together we could find a way to help you..." Jam started, causing Lex's head to snap up at the sound of his name.

"Hey hey, what do you mean 'Lex and I'? No way man, Sherrie got herself into this mess, it's her own responsibility to get herself out! And besides Jam, you gave up drum practice in order to teach her this stuff, if she didn't pay attention the first time do you really think she'll pay attention the second time around?" There was no way he was going to give up his free time because someone was too lazy to learn the material! She was ungrateful and spoiled, and Lex felt that she needed to learn her lesson. Sherrie felt her temper rise at Lex's pointed statement, _'I know I should have been paying more attention, but he doesn't have to be such a hard-ass about it!' She thought, glaring at her hunched over, dark-haired friend._

"How am I supposed to make up the work if I don't know how to do it!?" She exclaimed. Lex tossed a large textbook at her, the large block letters read: "Advanced Algebra".

"Read the book." he said before turning his back to the group to grab his books. Sherrie glared daggers at his retreating back, feeling indignant,

"Okay, then you can forget about having me on lead guitar, I'll be busy studying!" She shouted angrily, announcing it to the others as if she were leading a MATMOK rally. She grabbed her bag and headed towards her shiny new convertible, a gift from her grandmom, "Oh and you can all forget about your ride home too! You can take the bus like the fucking burnout losers you are!" She shouted, her real anger was for Lex, but the band was one entity, it wouldn't matter if she hurt Lex individually, she had to hurt them as a group in order to make any sort of impact. If there was one thing Sherrie was known for, it was her short fuse, and Lex just lit it. Hawk was the first to speak up,

"Thanks a lot Lex, now what are we gonna do? There is no one within a thousand miles of this place who can shred like Sherrie and there's not exactly a guarantee on your mom letting us use the Volvo to get to our gigs!" Trip seemed a little hurt at the former statement,

"Hey what about me? I can shred too!" He argued, referring to his mediocre guitar skills. Hawk started laughing,

"Yeah, and I've got a fuckin' monkey's tail! The point is Lex, none of us can learn Sherrie's guitar solos in time, and since you're the one who pissed her off, you're the one who's gotta fix it." Hawk finished, glad as hell that he wasn't the one to do it. Sherrie's temper was legendary, especially when it was aimed at him. It was no secret that Hawk and Sherrie shared a mutual hatred for each other. Hawk had declared himself long ago the indisputable leader of their group and Sherrie hated being pushed around, especially by someone whom she had once described as lecherous white trash. Though Hawk's contempt for Sherrie had seemingly faded away the moment she'd walked through the doors of their high school earlier that semester. He had commented about what a fox she had become in the two years she was away and was always calling her by that perverted nickname, 'Cherry', a remnant from middle school, and a play on her name, that had originally been formed to remind her that she was blatantly virginal and thus, a prude. Lex suspected that it was Hawk's twisted way of flirting with her because he only called her by that name when she was around. More than once Lex could have sworn he'd caught Hawk admiring his childhood friend's long, shapely legs. Lex would never admit it out loud, but he secretly agreed with him. Sherrie had gone from a skinny, knobby kneed girl with short, unkempt black hair-damaged from her many different dye jobs and cut haphazardly with her amateur hairdressing skills-to a long legged, icy blonde with a pair of luscious red lips and a rack that made guys socially retarded when she came within a five foot radius. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed what a babe she'd become. In fact, he-her best friend since they were in diapers-had barely recognized her when she'd waltzed into school the first day of their junior year of high school.

One semester ago, September 1978, first day of Junior Year

Sherrie Winters, formerly known as Sherrie Merle, sat in the back of her grandmother's black Bentley, her hands folded demurely in her lap. 'Demure' was a word that never would have described her in middle school, if anything, she had been uncultured and uncouth, a child of rock n' roll with a mother whom was an active vegan feminist. Sherrie's mother had met an untimely death two years before when a large semi truck rolled and crushed her Volkswagen beetle into a bizarre coffin. She'd been at school when it happened...her last day of middle school. Two police officers were waiting for her when she got home, along with all the friends and family her mother had invited to what was supposed to be a surprise party to celebrate her and her friends' graduation from middle school. She broke down in tears as she listened to them explain the accident, not only for her mother but also because she realized she was officially an orphan. Her father had died when she was a little girl from a brain tumor and now she had lost her mother too. Lex's mother, Kyle, had agreed to take Sherrie in until she was eighteen as she and her mother had been close friends since Sherrie's family had first moved to Ohio and Sherrie-to her knowledge-had no other family. Sherrie had lived with them for a week until an estranged uncle she'd never met came knocking on their door dressed in khakis, a white polo shirt and a pair of expensive shades. He was her mother's brother, Uncle Jimmy Winters, from Massachusetts. He had shown up out of the blue and told her to pack a bag of necessities because her grandmother had gotten legal custody of her, something that he hadn't seemed too happy about. And just like that, Sherrie had flown to the east coast to meet the grandmother whom she had been previously informed was deceased. She had always wondered if when her mother had told her her grandmother was dead if she had meant dead to her. Her mother was so much unlike the woman sitting next to her now that she would have seriously doubted that they were mother and daughter had she not seen the proof. Her grandmother reminded her of the Queen of England as she sat to her left, dressed in all of her finery. She made a day out driving look as if she were going to a gala ball with her diamond jewelry and expensively tailored dresses. Her mother had worn faded t-shirts, cutoff shorts and hemp bracelets. If Sherrie recalled, her mom had only owned a single silver cross and maybe two fancy dresses, both reserved for their church's Sunday service. Her mom may have been laid back and lenient, but she took her religion very seriously. Sherrie had worn her mom's cross around her neck since the day she died, to remind her of her mother and not to lose herself in the world of materialism that was her grandmother's life. Sherrie's grandmother, Marilyn Winters, was once a strait laced, religious woman until her unruly granddaughter showed up and made her realize the mistakes she'd made with her own daughter, who was now buried in their family mausoleum next to her late father. Sherrie may have been rough around the edges, but she was certainly her daughter's daughter and just the remembrance of Sherrie's mother had lead to Marilyn loving her granddaughter more than she'd ever thought possible. When Sherrie had first come to live with her, Marilyn was doubtful that she could ever turn the loud-mouthed street urchin into a cultured young lady worthy of her family name. However, Sherrie hadn't put up much of a fight once the loss of her mother had truly set in and she eventually succumbed to her grandmother's wishes to turn her into a debutante. Imagine that, a rock n' roll girl who idolized Joan Jett forced to put on a plastic smile, curtsy and rub elbows with a bunch of rich people. Being fake was something Sherrie hated, but she had done it for the sake of her only living family. Truthfully, Marilyn Winters had come to trust her granddaughter more than her own son, who seemed to care more about his yacht and his social life than about his poor, elderly mother. She had often regretted the decision she had made years ago to disown Sherrie's mother when she had run away to marry a mere construction worker. It seemed that God had given her a second chance and had opened her eyes to how greedy and undeserving her son was when she had learned of her granddaughter, Sherrie. James himself had no children and never planned on having any, he was a renowned womanizer and wouldn't change now matter how much she urged him. James didn't know it yet but she intended Sherrie to inherit the whole of her fortune, something she knew he'd been after for a long while.

The Bentley came to a gentle stop as it arrived at RFK High School. Sherrie sighed in relief as she realized they were early and there was hardly anyone around. She absolutely hated the attention she got when people saw that she was loaded. People who hated her suddenly became her friends when they were told how rich her family was...it made her sick to say the least. She still couldn't believe that she was back home, it was all so surreal to her. Her grandmother, pleased with the lady her granddaughter had become, had told her granddaughter that she'd grant any request. Without missing a beat, Sherrie requested to continue her education at Robert F. Kennedy High School back in Cleveland, Ohio. Her grandmother was surprised at her granddaughter's request, she had expected something along the lines of a brand new yacht or a ruby necklace, nothing so mundane as returning to high school in Cleveland. However, Sherrie reminded her that she had said she'd grant any request...

Her grandmother made it perfectly clear of what she thought of the school when the Bentley came to a stop,

"Dear, are you certain you want to spend your time with all this unwashed youth?" She said, utterly disgusted as she held a lace handkerchief over her nose as she looked around at the early kids lingering around the school's entrance. "It's not too late to turn around and go back to Massachusetts, Sherrie. There are many many private schools that I will only be too happy to send you to dear." Her grandmother pleaded. Sherrie shook her head.

"Grandmom, I'll be fine, this is what I want, all of my friends are here. I couldn't ask for more." Her grandmother was still getting used to Sherrie's new name for her, 'Grandmom', it was more of an intimate name than she was used to, perhaps a little too casual and disrespectful for her strict upbringing, nevertheless, she adored it.

"Yes of course darling, but you have friends back in Massachusetts as well. And you know, Chet will miss you terribly." Her grandmother hinted, blushing like a school girl. Sherrie could have hurled at the mention of Chet. Chet was a disco-loving, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, rich boy. He was currently enrolled at Harvard and her grandmother loved him. Since meeting him, Sherrie had worked vigilantly to find some kind of fault in the Prince Charming to no avail, the man was perfect. He had been nothing but kind to her, which unfortunately was a huge turn off for Sherrie. Seriously, there must have been something wrong with her, but she reasoned that she couldn't live her life with someone who hated rock music and didn't know her for her real self. As a result, there was no way she'd ever agree to the marriage arrangement her grandmother wanted to set up between them-no way in hell. She may have been a debutante, but deep down she was still the wild child who loved puffing on a joint while she listened to angry girls sing about things their parents hated. She sighed as she reached for the door handle,

"Grandmom I'm going to be late for my first class, I'll see you at home." She smoothly lied before kissing her grandmother on the cheek and stepping out of the Bentley. She stood on the steps leading into her school and watched the expensive car drive away, waving to her grandmother as it did.

Sherrie was nervous as she stood outside of the school. She hadn't seen or heard from Lex or any of the other guys since her uncle had taken her away and she wondered if they would hate her for looking like a total stella, something she had once avoided like the plague. _'Lex..'_ She hadn't seen her best friend since the day she left. She smiled as she recalled when he'd tried to stop her uncle from taking her away. Even though he was a weak, almost nerdy guy with no muscle, he'd tried to duke it out with her uncle only to nearly get his ass kicked. She had stepped between them before her arrogant uncle had broken the poor guy's legs. Sherrie remembered looking down at Lex as she got into her uncle's 1974 Ferrari Dino, he'd looked so downtrodden as he'd stared up at her pitifully, tears and blood running down his face as she told him goodbye. She wondered if he ever forgave her for leaving. She took her compact out of her bag and checked her makeup for the tenth time since arriving. Her signature red lipstick had been replaced by strawberry pink lipgloss and her heavy black eyeliner was traded in for light mascara and pink eyeshadow for a more natural look. She tousled her blonde curls and bit her lip nervously, remembering full well how the girls treated her in middle school. Despite her grandmother's protests, she had refused to put on a dress or wear platform shoes, there was no way she was going to face Lex and the others wearing something like that! Instead she wore a pair of brown clogs, they weren't her beloved converse sneakers, but they'd do. Her outfit was complete with a peachy-pink peasant's blouse and a pair of tight blue bell bottom jeans. It was definitely a stella-ish outfit, but she couldn't do much about it, her Grandmom had gotten rid of anything of hers that was grungy or tomboyish and had every piece of black eyeliner she owned melted down. She was even forced to get rid of her Joan Jett 'do along with her black hair color in favor of the natural golden blonde locks she had forsaken years ago. Butterflies swirled around in her stomach, now was the moment of truth when she'd finally step into the high school she was meant to step into two years ago. She walked through the door, garnering many stares as she did. To her surprise and utter relief, nobody had recognized her or called her out. For the first time in a long time, nobody saw her as the ugly, wiry little burnout girl, or tried to charm her into being their friend because of her social standing, for the moment, she was just the babelicious new stella.

Jeremiah Bruce, known as Jam to his friends, was cleanly stacking his new books in his locker. At first glance, Jam was the model teenager. He earned good grades, was in his youth group at church, and the curly blonde mop that covered his head made him look almost cherubic. Many people he knew would be shocked to know that in his spare time this cherub beat drums to what the generations before his called 'devil's music'. Speaking of the devil, he was more than relieved not to be going to Saint Bernard's Boarding School. His mom had basically shut him out after his big speech in Detroit. His speech had seemed to open her eyes to the fact that he was nearly grown and no longer a child. To his relief, she never again forced him to go to church or to wear those horrible k-mart brand clothes that made him look like he was competing in the math league. All she said to him now was that she was disappointed in him and that she hoped one day that he would see the error in his ways and come back to her and to God. Whatever, it didn't bother him in the least, or at least that's what he told himself. _'Oh!'_ He thought to himself as he spotted Beth's phone number taped to the back of his locker, ' _She hasn't given me her new number yet...'_ He and Beth hadn't talked since Detroit. Beth had promised to give him a call once her parents had gotten a phone, but it hadn't happened and he sorely wondered if it had just been a one time thing. He tore her old number off the back of his locker and crumbled it up, remembering when he'd asked her for it in study hall, his excuse being so they could help each other with homework, he hadn't known at the time that they both had a crush on each other. He shook his head at the thought, all of those opportunities to makeout with her and he'd squandered them. It was then that he was surprised by Lex who quickly wrenched his own locker open with a bang.

"Hey Jam."

"Lex." They greeted each other as Lex unceremoniously dumped his books into his own locker which full of Kiss memorabilia. Jam's locker was dedicated to Peter Criss...and Beth of course. Lex had above average intelligence for a burnout, which unfortunately made him a bit of a buzzkill. He was notorious for his negativity, Hawk had once warned him that his worrying would lead him into an early grave, it had already caused permanent frown lines to form on his face... Jam shut his locker door and noticed that Lex had Christine's phone number posted in a hidden corner of his locker. If not for the hot pink lipstick stain, Jam would not have otherwise noticed it. Lex noticed his gaze and slammed his locker shut. It was then that Jam realized that Lex would rather not talk about his little affair with the stella, Christine. Hawk and Trip had already given him enough shit about it. The latter two showed up moments later, seemingly joined at the hip, chatting about something they saw in the hallway.

"What are you two so excited about?" Lex asked. The two of them had huge shit-eating grins on their faces.

"Dude Lex, me and Trip have this smokin' hot new girl in our homeroom." Lex raised an eyebrow,

"Really? She a Stella?" He asked, already knowing the answer, the only 'smokin' hot' girls at their school were always Stellas.

"Well, not exactly." Trip answered.

"What do you mean?" Lex demanded.

"We mean that she looks like a stella with the huge hair and the pink lipgloss, but she's got skulls drawn on her backpack, man." Hawk recounted, starting to get excited again.

"And that's not all..." Trip paused for effect, "She's got fucking Paul Stanley's face stapled to the front of it too!" It was like their dream girl had come to life, a foxy chick who loved Kiss as much as they did! But Lex became frozen at Trip's last statement. There was only one person he knew who loved Paul Stanley enough to staple him to the front of her backpack. _'No way, it couldn't be her, could it?' _ Sherrie Merle was out of his life for good, he reasoned, with a rich grandmother who'd sent her off to debutante school, there was no way she'd be back here in this deadbeat town. So, who was this enigma who'd shown up out of the blue with the habits of his childhood friend? He was going to find out.

So yeah, cliffhanger and just wanted to say a few things...

Christine's phone number. In the script, Lex gives Christine money for a cab so she can get to Disco Inferno. She writes her number on his hand in lipstick (which-let's be honest-is a little unrealistic, it would rub off almost immediately!) instead I wrote this as if she had given him a piece of notepaper that she had kissed with her phone number on it.

Don't worry there is more to come! Please remember to leave me reviews if you liked it!


	2. Hotter than Hell

Disclaimer: I don't own Detroit Rock City, just Sherrie and my other OCs.

The title was taken from a Kiss song of the same name.

Warning: more strong language, sexual suggestiveness and mention of drug use

Chapter 2

Hotter Than Hell

Three Years ago, summer, 1975

"_Why would you want to be Paul Stanley's groupie? Gene Simmons is way cooler!" Lex argued as he and Sherrie sat at a local hamburger joint. The restaurant was a short walk from Lex's house. It was their favorite place to go after class, a place that even the guys didn't know about. As usual, they shared a plate of French fries between them, smothered in ketchup. _

_"I don't want to be his groupie Lex..." She started before she was rudely interrupted,_

_"Then what-"_

_"I want to marry him of course!" Lex tried not to choke on his food as he started laughing uncontrollably. "Don't laugh asshole, I mean it!" She retorted angrily, shoving his chocolate shake into his face in a half-hearted way to keep him from choking. "If I'm his wife, he won't be able to sleep around with any of those whores and he'll be all mine." She reasoned. Lex shook his head, Sherrie was delusional if she thought a rockstar would give up sleeping with groupies because of a few wedding vows, but he felt he should let her have her dream, she did seem rather proud that she'd thought of it after all... Her sapphire eyes were staring back intensely at him beneath her over-processed black bangs, _

_"I swear, if you tell anyone-and I mean anyone-especially that motherfucker, Hawk, I'll punch you in the balls so hard your children's children will feel it!" She punctuated the threat by banging her fist against the table. _

_"Okay, okay," He held up his hands in mock fear, "I promise I'll never tell anyone. Cross my heart and hope to die! Are we good?" He asked as he drew an x over his heart. She smiled, knowing she would never do anything to intentionally hurt him._

"_Yeah, we're good."_

Back to September, 1978

Lex wondered if it really was Sherrie they were talking about, but judging from what Hawk and Trip had said, there was no way. Sherrie hated stellas just as much as the rest of them and she would never in a million years dress like one of them. And the girl they mentioned was a blonde. It was true that Sherrie was a natural blonde, but she never liked the way she was perceived. It was one of the reasons why she always dyed it black, to avoid being called dumb or worse, angelic and innocent. "_Rockstars are not supposed to be angelic and innocent looking!"_ She had once argued. Sherrie, like the rest of them, had dreams about being a rock n' roll star, not to mention being the world's greatest guitarist. If Lex recalled, Sherrie would practice on her electric guitar until her hands cramped and her fingers bled. Her hands were always covered in bandages when she was first learning to play and he could imagine that those same hands were now spotted with calluses. Sherrie's determination to become something better than the small town girl with the big dreams was astonishing, but now he guessed she no longer had to worry about that. The school bell rang, interrupting his thoughts and signaling that it was time to go to class.

"Oh? Is it that time already?" Hawk said nonchalantly, stretching as he did so. Lex rolled his eyes, it was obvious that his friend was only too eager to get to class. His friend seemed more confident with the ladies after his supposed tryst with the milf, Amanda Finch. Lex was certain that Hawk had made the story up, he couldn't believe that an attractive, older woman would look twice at someone like him. Hell, the girls at their own school didn't even spare him a passing glance! Hawk was the eldest in their group and the self-appointed leader. He wore a worn out green army jacket that looked almost like a trench coat on his small frame. He also smoked like a train which Lex had once deducted was possibly why he was shorter than all of them. But what Hawk lacked in height he made up for in personality. "See ya at lunch muchachos!" Hawk said as he patted Lex on the back. Lex watched Trip and Hawk practically skip to class before turning around and following Jam to their homeroom.

Sherrie felt awkward sitting in the center of a bunch of kids she knew from middle school. None of them had recognized her or even attempted to say hello or throw mean comments at her. The nerd on her right looked at her timidly behind an American History textbook and she could hear the girls gossiping quietly about the family she came from. She snickered when she heard something about her dating John Travolta. Ha! Never in a million years stellas! She looked up when two familiar faces strolled through the door, thinking for sure that they'd recognize her. She was confused when Hawk only winked at her and Trip looked at her like she was the biggest bag of weed he'd ever seen.

Class passed by at a slower pace than usual. Hawk sat beside Trip in the back of the room, trying to devise a way to get the hottie in the tight blue jeans to notice him. He'd first tried throwing wads of paper at her head, which worked the first time he'd tried it. She'd turned around in her seat and looked straight at him without missing a beat as if she knew it could only be him who'd thrown it. She'd returned his gesture with a glare that was unnervingly familiar before turning around to face the board again. He continued to throw wads of paper at her, but the next few times she just ignored him. He blew his bangs out of his eyes as he started to become frustrated. He was all out of paper and it wasn't like he'd brought any writing utensils to the first day of school, as if he'd bring them anyway...Their teacher was finished explaining the syllabus when he pulled out a projector and started up an educational film about world politics. Trip leaned over to whisper to him just then,

"Hey Hawk, why didn't we just ditch this class in the first place?" He asked. Hawk turned to look at his friend,

"Whaddaya mean? I thought you had this big revelation in Detroit and were planning on doing better in school?" Trip shrugged, he had seemingly reconsidered his decision.

"Well yeah, tomorrow! It's not like we get a grade for the first day of school, they don't even give out homework man!" Hawk frowned at Trip and turned his attention back to the new girl who hadn't looked back at him once since he'd thrown that first wad of paper.

Sherrie was relieved when class was over, she could have sworn Hawk was staring holes through the back of her head. And she had no intention to stay behind after class and talk with him either, even if he had recognized her, which it was obvious now that he hadn't. She despised Hawk. He was a lecherous pervert and an arrogant asshole. And on top of that, he used to tease the hell out of her until she exploded in anger. Which was something that she had tried with all of her might not to do when he was throwing wads of paper at her head. Even after all this time the bastard hadn't changed! And Trip, as usual, was his partner in crime stealing syllabus pages from a group of geeks and building paper airplanes to throw at her! Sherrie had put up with Hawk because he was Lex's friend but Trip was an entirely different story. In elementary school, Trip had been their bully. He had matured faster than the other kids and had towered over her, Lex and Jam. It wasn't until Hawk came to their school and broke Trip's nose for trying to steal his lunch money that Trip joined their circle of friends. Sherrie supposed it had something to do with male dominance and Trip's tendency to submit to anyone stronger than him. Trip had immediately become Hawk's subordinate after that and did anything the boy asked. She knew that Trip held an immense amount of respect for Hawk, but she could never understand why. She stopped off at her locker to put her books away when the 'get to class' bell rang. She looked up at the clock, confused. It read 10:40, she had five minutes to get to class. "Shit." She cursed, slamming the lock against her locker door in frustration. Pissed that she had to carry her books to class, she ran up the double staircase to her next class, biology.

Hawk sat alone at one of the lab tables, an outcast as usual. The girls in his class avoided him like he had leprosy or something. Like Trip said, nothing ever happened on the first day of class, so why had he bothered coming? He kept asking himself that question when the dreamy girl from his homeroom burst through the door and supplied him with his answer. Sweat gleamed off of her porcelain skin as she gasped for breath. The biology teacher, Mr. Tuttle, who was well known for being a stickler for rules, looked over his spectacles at her in disapproval as he was rudely interrupted.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologized nervously.

"Ah, you must be..." He looked down the list of names, "Miss Winters." He raised his brows as he recognized the prestigious name, deciding to let her off easy, "Since it's the first day of school I'll let you off with a warning, now please find a place to sit." She looked around the room, seemingly disheartened when she realized all the tables were full, the girls in the room looked sorry for her as her eyes settled on the last lab table. Hawk looked back at her with a huge grin plastered on his face, his arms folded behind his head as he rested his feet on the table in front of him. Suddenly, his luck was turning around. She looked at him like someone had just sentenced her to death in the electric chair and heavily plopped down on the stool next to him. Hawk had taken the outside seat, leaving her trapped between him and the wall, she mentally cringed at the thought of the bastard boxing her in. Mr. Tuttle scolded Hawk for having his feet on the work table before going back to the syllabus. That was when Hawk turned to her with what he hoped was a charming smile.

"What's up sweet cheeks?" He crooned. It took everything she had not to retch at the thought of him trying to hit on her. She decided to ignore him instead of encouraging him further which unfortunately made Hawk all the more determined. The scent of cigarettes and marijuana emanated off of him and she inhaled deeply, God she had missed that smell...it reminded her of home and of mom. Smoking wasn't allowed in debutante school and her grandmother had made her give it up as soon as she moved in, '_A lady shouldn't stink like tobacco!'_ she had said. If she were honest with herself, she was actually happy to be rid of the habit, she could breathe a lot easier, food tasted better and quitting had improved the health of her hair and nails. The fact that the nostalgic smell was coming from Hawk made her think that maybe she had missed him too, despite the fact that his very being annoyed her to no end. He was better than the braggy, affluent friends she had made in Massachusetts, that's for sure...

Like any teenaged boy, Hawk immediately noticed that the girl's peasant blouse was a little too tight for school protocol, revealing just a hint of cleavage and he couldn't help but stare at her fine pair of perky c-cup tits. He unconsciously licked his lips at the thought of getting his hands on the soft, heavenly cushions. Sherrie caught him staring out of the corner of her eye and clenched her hands into fists. '_Yeah, the thought about missing him,_ _scratch that, I'd rather be back in Massachusetts having Chet fawn all over me than have Hawk stare at me so fucking openly!'_ If they weren't in the middle of class she'd smash his face in. Hawk then noticed the small silver cross around her neck and smirked, '_Perfect._' He thought, clearing his throat as he prepared to deploy one of the many pickup lines he had up his sleeve, he obviously didn't notice the tightening of her jaw. He turned to face her fully,

"Are you religious? Because you're the answer to all my prayers." Sherrie rolled her eyes before turning to him with a deadpanned look on her face, the idiot was illiterate when it came to body language,

"Look, I have no intention whatsoever of dating you so you might as well give up before you embarrass yourself...or get your ass kicked." She whispered before turning around and facing the teacher once more who was still droning on boringly about the consequences of chewing gum in his class. Hawk laughed, damn she was feisty! Just his type! Finally he was getting somewhere,

"Damn baby, how'd you know I like it rough?" He replied, draping an arm over the back of her chair. She was getting pissed now,

"Listen dickhead, If you took your head out of your ass maybe you'd realize that I'm not into you, now take your goddamned hand off of my shoulder before I break your fucking fingers!" She spouted angrily, getting right up in his face. All the expletives came pouring out of her after being suppressed for so long, the heat of the anger flowing through her blood felt strangely good, almost orgasmic. Hawk wasn't moved by her threats in the least and simply leaned in and pulled her roughly into a kiss that she neither wanted nor could refuse while his arms held her tightly to him.

"Stop that immediately!" Their biology teacher shouted. The other students were looking at them with shocked looks on their faces. The few cheerleaders in class watched intently for details to provide to the rest of the squad later. Sherrie took this chance to push Hawk as far away from her as possible, making sure to smack him across the face as she did. Hawk seemed unperturbed by the slap and simply smirked at her as if to say, '_You_ _know you liked it._' Sherrie wiped her mouth in disgust at the taste of tobacco and the fact that she had just lost her first kiss to someone that she had once declared her undying hatred for. Their teacher was none too pleased and his face was so red it seemed like he might spontaneously combust,

"I've never heard such language spoken in this classroom! Nor such a public display of affection! Miss Winters, you have broken three rules. I let you off easy before because I knew you came from a well-to-do family, but I cannot excuse such crudeness in a place of learning!" Hawk started snickering, "What are you laughing at Mr. Clark?" Hawk froze at the use of his last name, "You are just as responsible and just as deserving of a detention!" Their biology teacher pulled out two slips of paper with their names on it and handed it to them. Sherrie snatched hers from him, astonished,

"This is so unfair! He's the one who started it!" She shouted in outrage. Damn that Hawk! She was already in trouble because of him and it wasn't even eleven o' clock yet!

"And I'm finishing it Miss Winters! Now get out of my classroom this instant!" Their irate, middle-aged science teacher pointed towards the door and Sherrie reluctantly grabbed her stuff and headed out the door with Hawk in tow, too angry to even acknowledge his presence.

—-

So his pickup line hadn't gone as planned, but now the girl was stuck with him in detention, how lucky for him! As far as he was concerned, he still had a chance. The girl hadn't looked at him or said a word to him since they'd left the classroom and in all honesty he had felt a little bad for getting her in trouble. He wiped the strawberry lipgloss off his face, remembering the look she had given him when he'd let go of her. Her face had flushed a bright red and she'd looked at him as if he'd stolen something valuable that she could never get back. But surely he was mistaken, that couldn't have been her first kiss? A gorgeous girl like her, she probably had to wear a chastity belt and beat men off with a stick. He shook his head, maybe he had imagined it.

Dammit, this was not how she wanted to start off her first day here! Her Grandmom would be so upset to know she had gotten a detention and Sherrie knew the elderly woman would blame the school's delinquency and say that she was better off in Massachusetts. Not that that was entirely untrue...she thought as she glared back at the delinquent who was responsible for this mess. He didn't notice her glare as he ripped through basketball flyers and football banners, skipping through the halls as if he were glad for the excuse to get out of class. He met her eyes before puckering his lips in a mockery of their previous kiss, causing her to turn her eyes forward in indignation. She made sure to walk ahead of him until they reached their destination, an almost empty classroom except for the familiar face in the very back. Hawk walked in and noticed Trip was already there, sitting in the back of the room. His lanky friend gave him a double thumbs up when he noticed the new girl was with him. It really didn't surprise her to see Trip in detention as she suspected it was a common occurrence. The overweight, middle-aged woman in charge of detention took the slip from her before inquiring,

"Hmm, a newcomer huh?" She then noticed who was standing behind her, "Ah, Mr. Clark, I didn't expect to see you so late in the morning, I expected you earlier." Hawk balked at the use of his real name, "It's Hawk." He said before leaning down and folding his arms on the desk, "And may I say Mrs. Newberry you are looking beautiful today." He said, hoping his charm would get him out of detention earlier. She looked at him with a bored expression on her face, she had obviously heard it all before and she snubbed him before turning back to Sherrie,

"You look like a nice girl, I'm sorry you had to get caught up with this riffraff."

"Yeah, me too." Sherrie said pointedly. Hawk held his hand to his chest in fake astonishment,

"Riffraff? I'm hurt!" Mrs. Newberry ignored him as she explained the rules to Sherrie,

"No talking or gum chewing, you can sit wherever except next to these two." She pointed at Trip and Hawk with her number two pencil, "Detention ends at 12:15 for lunch and after that you're expected to attend the rest of your classes for the day." Sherrie nodded before taking her seat, making it a point to sit in the center of the room, there was no way she was going to be trapped against the wall again. Hawk sat in the back with Trip whom was ecstatic.

"Hey man, so is she really a stella or what?" He asked. Hawk shrugged,

"I don't know, so far she seems pretty stella-ish to me." Hawk said, referring to the fact that she seemed to want nothing to do with him. Trip seemed rather disheartened at this statement and his face fell. In the midst of everything, Hawk had forgotten to even mention Kiss to her, he was too busy thinking with his dick. "She's kind of pissed at me for getting her in trouble so I doubt she'll even talk to me, but I'm gonna find out right now." He said as Mrs. Newberry left the room to take a bathroom break. He got up and plopped down in the desk to the left of Sherrie's. "What's up Stella?" He greeted, doing a double-take when she flinched at the nickname, he knew that most stellas didn't recognize the term and usually answered with 'my name's not Stella'. She didn't say anything, silently seething as she tapped her perfectly manicured nails against the desk. "Hey look, I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I guess I got caught up in the moment." She continued to stare down at her desk, she couldn't believe it, Hawk was actually apologizing to her? "It's just that, you're one of the hottest chicks I've ever seen." She looked up at him then, thinking for a moment that he knew who she was and that he was only playing with her,

"Really?" She asked uncertainly. He nodded his head,

"Yeah, a total fox." He winked at her and she started laughing hysterically. Hawk looked around hesitantly, "Did I say something funny?" She was gasping for air when she finally looked over at him,

"You really don't remember me, do you Hawk?" He blinked, staring back at her. At no time did he remember ever introducing himself nor telling her his name. Wait, that wasn't right, he'd said it to Mrs. Newberry but...

"Huh?" He asked with a dumbfounded expression. Remember her? He thought for sure he'd remember a girl as good looking as her, especially one that listened to Kiss. She cleared her throat, looking him straight in the face. It took him a while before he finally realized who he was looking at...and who he kissed in biology. Her face lit up with glee when a horrified expression crossed his features. "Holy shit." He said quietly, "You're Sherrie Merle aren't you?" He said wide-eyed, looking as if he wanted to hurl...or run away. She smiled sweetly back at him.

"Congratulations darling, I guess you're not a complete moron." She leaned in closer, looking as if she were going to kiss him, her eyes becoming hooded as she whispered, "And if you ever put that filthy mouth on mine again I'll send your fucking head to the moon." She sat back in her chair, "And I don't mean the one on your shoulders." Hawk knew he shouldn't be getting a hard on right now, but he couldn't help it, her threats were turning him on. The gangly girl with the whiny, high pitched voice whom he had once joked looked more like Joey Ramone than Joan Jett had suddenly become hot. "Am I being perfectly fucking clear?" She asked with a glare when he hadn't done so much as stare at her.

"Crystal fucking clear." He answered with a challenging little smirk. He decided he liked this new Sherrie and in no way was the fact that she was the obnoxious girl from his childhood going to deter him from her. He looked back at Trip who was hankering for details and obviously knew nothing of their whispered conversation. '_Wait_ _until the guys get a load of this'_. He thought.

Author's note:

Ok, so no Lex and Sherrie action this chapter, but I promise I'll get to it next time!

Also, I wanted to say a few things, I've been a little rusty and as a result hadn't written anything in a while...this is my first time writing in 6 months I think! I purchased a few books that I would highly recommend if whether you are a beginner or a seasoned writer: "outlining your novel" and "structuring your novel" both by K.M. Weiland. They have both helped me out a lot when it comes to writer's block and thinking about where I want the story to go. When I write, I usually start out with a rough outline or general idea of what direction I want the chapter to take. Then using the very rough, general guidelines, I dive right in and write a rough draft of the chapter based purely on my flow of thought. After that, I go back though and edit out unnecessary items and add more content or I sometimes scrap the idea entirely and start over! I usually try to set a goal for where I want the story to end up so that I'm not wandering aimlessly. Anyway, I just wanted to share my process with you all and I hope that it helps other aspiring writers! Thank you for reading and please leave a review and tell me what you thought!


	3. She's a Bad Mama Jama

I wanted to warn you, I think I've outdone myself in the foul language department! It must come from repressed rage or something. Anyway, more pervertedness and yes I use the c-word in this chapter, so be on guard for that!

Warning: Sexual suggestiveness, crude language, mention of drug use

Disclaimer: I don't own it, just Sherrie, my OC's and the plot of this fanfiction.

Carl Carlton's disco song was the inspiration for the chapter title.

Chapter 3

She's a Bad Mama Jama

Hawk hadn't seemed bothered by her threats earlier, in fact he seemed to enjoy the attention she was giving him, something which had alarmed her. Sure they were empty threats-though when she threatened Hawk one could never tell-but they were the only defense she had against him. It seemed he had gained more bravado over the years she'd been away, so much so that her threats had done nothing to deter him. If anything they had only made him bolder.

"Ah, little miss Cherry's filling out nicely I see..." He said playfully, groping one of her tits as they walked down the crowded hallway. She batted his hands away, scowling at him as he tried to play it off like it was an innocent mistake, "Hey it was an accident! There's barely enough room in this hallway!" He held up his hands in mock apology all the while reaching behind her to snap her bra strap, unknowingly loosening the clasp. She yelped, looking at him with murder in her eyes when he laughed at her attempt to cover her chest,

"There's no way that was an accident you bastard, stop touching me! And quit calling me 'Cherry' it's disgusting!" She shouted, running into the nearby bathroom to fix her wardrobe malfunction.

She growled underneath her breath as she slammed one of the stall doors behind her. Moments later she heard a commotion as a bunch of platform shoes came stomping into the bathroom. '_Stellas._' She thought, pausing in her motions when she realized the conversation was about her.

"Hey Lacey, have you seen that new girl yet?" One of them asked.

"No, not yet, who is she?" Lacey asked. One of the other girls answered.

"I've heard rumors that she's from some wealthy family on the east coast and that she hangs out with celebrities, but I think that's just what they are, rumors. Why would some little princess girl leave the land of fame and riches to come to this loser town?" Sherrie started fuming, _'Loser town? Well yeah, Cleveland isn't really anything special compared to New York or Hollywood, but what do they know?_' She heard something like someone spraying perfume or hairspray and covered her mouth to keep herself from choking on the overload of fumes.

"Um, a loser, that's who." Another girl answered.

"Yeah, I plan on leaving this place as soon as I graduate. Why you'd want to move here is a mystery to me." Lacey agreed. One of the other girls spoke up.

"And anyway, Karen from my home economics class saw her hanging out with those two burnouts, um, what were their names again? Hawk and...Strip?" Lacey started laughing,

"Well if she was hanging out with them, she's definitely a loser." Sherrie couldn't take it anymore and burst out of the stall. Who did this bitch think she was anyway? She was the only girl who was allowed to call Hawk and Trip losers! The question was answered when she came face to face with the girl who bullied her in middle school, Lacey Wright. She seemed offended when Sherrie came out of the stall. "Geez, a loser and she has no manners. Who are you new girl? And why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?" Sherrie smirked, the bitch didn't remember her, well she'd have to rectify that...

"Aww, you don't remember me Lacey? I'm hurt, of course if I breathed as many chemical fumes as you do on a daily basis, I'd probably be a little retarded too." She said, walking towards the three of them. Lacey Wright stood in the middle of them with her platinum blonde, feathered hair, wearing a tight, red dress and the most obnoxious blue eyeshadow Sherrie had ever seen. In all honesty, Sherrie would have mistaken her for a prostitute before the disco queen that she so desperately wanted to be. Her two lackeys wore less flashy but no less obnoxious clothing. The taller one on her right was called Brenda Smith, a total sheep, she usually went along with whatever Lacey said or did. She wore a bright orange leisure suit along with hoop earrings, giant fake eyelashes and her hair was permed and backcombed into an afro. The one on her left was Melissa Grey, she redefined the term 'nervous nelly' with the way she chewed her gum and fingernails. She was shorter than the other two and her look was more toned down. She wore her wavy dark blonde hair in a sideways half-updo, her otherwise boring look was completed with a white fur coat and a fluffy pink scrunchie. Sherrie had once wanted to be like them, to know what it was like to be popular-as every girl does-but now she cringed as she looked at Lacey's lackeys and realized what she would have become: a spineless, brainless twit. And to have to listen to disco music and wear a million layers of makeup and perfume every day...if she wanted to thank God for anything, it was that she didn't have to do any of that! And besides, she loved Rock n' Roll, she wouldn't give it up for anything! Even when she was in debutante school she had kept The Runaways and Kiss records stashed beneath her bed only to listen to them long after lights out. Rock n' Roll music made her feel powerful and sexy. The twang of the electric guitar sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine, the beat of the drums fired her up and made her feel like she could take on the world, and the voice of the lead singer, whether soft and melodic or loud and antagonizing captured her heart and soul. She loved it so much that her mother, months before she died, had bought her an electric guitar and given her money for lessons. She fondly remembered strumming away on it for hours with Lex and the others to poorly rendered covers of Kiss and Black Sabbath among others. She missed her mom so much...

"Excuse me? Who are you calling retarded? Do you even know who you're talking to?" Lacey retorted, using her status as a defense mechanism.

"Um, I believe I called _you_ retarded sweetheart." Sherrie answered back patronizingly, "Has all that bleach finally killed your brain cells?" Sherrie was of course taking a serious jab at the fact that Lacey wasn't a true blonde, something that she painstakingly tried to hide. Brenda spoke up on her queen bee's behalf,

"How dare you!? Lacey is high school royalty! If anything you should be on your knees begging for forgiveness!"

"I'm sure you know all about being on your knees, eh Brenda?" In middle school, being Sherrie's bully meant you were at risk of her knowing all of your secrets, if someone pissed her off, her one-track mind proved invaluable when it came to revenge, and she knew that with girls, destroying them usually involved exploitation. Brenda's antics with her professors were no exception. Jam had once told Sherrie that her vengeful behavior was unhealthy. Brenda became flustered at the crude response while Melissa had begun snapping away nervously on her bubblegum with an attempt to quell her anxious mind. A look of recognition came over Lacey's face at the crudeness of the remark,

"As I live and breathe, Sherrie-fucking-Merle. Or should I say little miss 'cherry pie'?" Lacey finished, drawing her lips into a pout. Sherrie cringed, hating the nickname with all of her being, Lacey was the reason Hawk had started calling her that! "Aww, look girls, she remembers her name! Oh and I bet your still a hopeless virgin too, but you just keep telling yourself that you're waiting for marriage!" She and the other girls started laughing while Sherrie balled her hands into fists to keep herself from breaking Lacey's nose. "You might look like us honey, but you'll always be a prude who pretends to be a bad girl for all of her disgusting burnout friends." She flipped her blonde hair back behind her shoulders as she took one last look in the mirror before heading towards the door. Sherrie took a few deep, calming breaths before calling out, there was no way Lacey was going to win over her again!

"You know what Lacey? You're absolutely right, I am a virgin, but at least my cunt doesn't look like a bag of cow tongues after fucking every guy on the football team." Lacey paused at the door and Sherrie knew that her comment had hit home. Debutante school may have taught her how to keep calm in situations like this, but it obviously hadn't taught her how to put a cap on her dirty mouth. Melissa shifted her eyes back and forth in anticipation while Brenda remained speechless. Lacey turned around slowly, shaking with rage.

"So, after all this time you've finally found the nerve to stand up to me. And just when you learned how _not_ to dress like a total dyke." Sherrie smiled coolly. "It's too bad, I was actually starting to like you, now I'm afraid I can't rest until I tear that perfect blonde hair out by the roots!" Lacey was about to reach for her when a voice called out by the door,

"Hey Cherry! Did you fall in or what? Come on let's go, I'm starving!" Hawk shouted as he came strolling into the ladies' room.

"What the hell are you doing in here loser?" Lacey turned on him angrily.

"Yeah, this is the _girls_' bathroom!" Brenda shouted, she obviously wanted justice for Sherrie's earlier remark about her. Hawk looked at them as if he hadn't noticed them standing there.

"Oh really? Is this the girls' room? 'Cuz all I see are a bunch of trannies." Sherrie burst out laughing while the others gaped in astonishment. No guy had ever dared treated them like that, they were worshipped, every guy at that school would kill to date them, let alone have a chance to talk to them. Sherrie couldn't believe it, Hawk was coming to her rescue? And he'd apologized to her earlier! What was the world coming to? Lacey turned to her friends in a huff,

"Come on girls, we don't need this!" She then turned to Sherrie, "I suggest you watch your back closely if you don't want to lose all of that pretty blonde hair." Hawk laughed,

"What are you gonna do? Give her an STD?" Lacey gritted her teeth at the remark before stomping out of the room. Hawk sighed, pushing his hair back, "Jesus, it's only the first day and you already have Lacey Wright breathing down your neck! It's lucky I was listening otherwise you would have had your ass handed to you!" Sherrie rolled her eyes in disbelief,

"Please, that whore won't do anything to me unless she has her little groupies around to back her up and even then I'm pretty sure I could take 'Saturday Night Fever' and Barbie's less attractive cousin." She said, picking up her backpack. "Oh and thanks for what you did back there, if it hadn't been for you I might have been suspended on my first day back." She said sincerely.

"Oh come on, don't get all touchy-feely on me! We're supposed to hate each other remember?" Sherrie smiled,

"Yeah maybe, and I wasn't going to bring this up before but you know you're a pervert for eavesdropping on the girls' bathroom." She crossed her arms, the action putting her breasts further on display in her tight pink top. Hawk's eyes immediately zoned in and he couldn't lie, he enjoyed the view, until he realized she was laughing at him! '_Fucking_ _tease!'_ He thought, averting his eyes and turning away, flapping his coat in disconcert. "Lunch period will be over if we don't hurry up, so come on!" He said as he headed out the door.

Lex and Jam sat at their usual table in the cafeteria waiting for Hawk and Trip.

"So, have you had any classes with that new girl?" Lex asked nonchalantly, shoveling what he hoped was meatloaf into his mouth. Jam shook his head.

"Nah, but I've heard plenty of rumors about her." Lex nodded his head in agreement,

"Yeah, me too, ones about her having close connections with John Travolta and others about her being related to the Queen of England or something." Lex and Jam both laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Just then, Trip came barreling into the cafeteria, unable to contain his excitement as he reached the table, slamming into it and spilling Jam's milk all over Lex's food tray in the process.

"Dammit Trip, look where you're going you big lummox!" Lex exclaimed, growling at the milk stain on his brand new Kiss t-shirt. Jam rushed to the nearby mens' room and came back with a ludicrous amount of paper towels,

"Here man, use these!" He said, giving half of them to Lex to mop up the mess on the table.

"Uh, sorry..." Trip apologized half-heartedly, still out of breath. Lex sighed,

"What was so important that you had to run over here and ruin my lunch?" He asked bitterly, he'd already spent his lunch money for the day and now his meal was ruined. He'd have to sit through his last two periods on an empty stomach, but then again, he wasn't exactly sure that their public school nutrition wasn't wearing a hole in his intestines. Trip then remembered why he'd run over there in the first place,

"O-oh yeah! Hawk's with that hot new girl from our homeroom!" He spouted excitedly. Lex looked less than pleased, he really didn't care that Hawk had hooked up with some girl and he looked back at his friend disgustedly,

"Ah, come on Trip we don't want to hear about Hawk making out with some girl while we're eating!" Trip looked confused for a second before shaking his head,

"No man, I mean she's gonna come hang out with us!" Jam and Lex both looked back at their friend with deadpanned expressions,

"So?" Lex said, "Is she giving out free candy or something?" As he said these words he noticed Hawk step through the double doors leading into the cafeteria, followed by this girl everyone was talking about. He narrowed his eyes when she came into view, feeling like he knew her from somewhere. It was then that her blue eyes met his and her skin flushed a wonderful rosy hue when she noticed his gaze. She smiled at him before looking away shyly, following Hawk into the lunch line. It was then that the realization hit him full force. It was her, he couldn't believe it! He'd know that smile anywhere. And those eyes! God, those eyes were made even more beautiful now that they weren't surrounded by circles of inky-black eyeliner. He had to teach himself to breathe again as she came closer, his breath caught in his throat. How could someone he'd known since childhood have this kind of effect on him? He felt like a virgin who just had the entire cheerleading team offer to get topless for him. Hell, losing his virginity hadn't been this nerve wracking!

She felt like one of those chicks in a Romance novel...not that she owned any of course! Her heart fluttered at the sight of her best friend. She followed Hawk to the table where Jam, Trip and Lex were all sitting, nearly spilling her tray when Lex practically jumped out of his seat. He stared down at her nervously, wiping his sweaty palms on his worn out jeans. He had finally gotten his growth spurt and towered over her, she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. He had grown from a spindly little dork with braces and horrible acne to a tall, dark-and dare she say-handsome young man very similar to the type who invaded her girlish fantasies. If he hadn't been her best friend she would have swooned.

"Hi." She said simply, unable to control the blush that spread across her cheeks. His sultry brown eyes stared back into her sparkling blue ones as he gulped down the extra saliva that had suddenly gathered in his mouth.

"Hey." He answered back. He wanted to punch himself in the face, '"_Hey?" That's all you can come up with? You haven't seen your best friend in two years and the best you can come up with is "Hey"?'_ He noticed she was looking back at him as if expecting him to say or do something and he panicked, _'Oh no, I've been staring at her so long that I missed the first part of the conversation! Okay, calm down you've got this!' _He suddenly pointed a finger at her as if he just remembered who she was. "Sherrie." He said, feeling like a huge idiot. She smiled, biting her lips to keep herself from laughing at him. _'Damn that's sexy...' _he thought.

"Yeah, and you're...Lex right?" She said teasingly, pretending she didn't remember him.

"Yeah..." He said, he definitely felt like a moron. Jam saved him more embarrassment when he got up and gave Sherrie a hug,

"Hey Sherrie." He greeted. She hugged him back, ecstatic.

"Hey Jeremiah what's-"

"It's Jam now." He interrupted before she could say more. She shrugged her shoulders, suddenly embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry I must have forgotten! I know you told me in that letter-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You guys have been writing to each other!?" Lex interjected as he was harshly jolted out of his daze with this new information. He suddenly felt a little envious. Sherrie's uncle had called his mom to tell him that he wasn't allowed to have contact with her anymore because of his social status, and here was Jam writing letters back and forth with her like they were fucking pen pals!

"Oh sorry, I was going to tell you sooner man, Sherrie's grandma and my mom know each other from this charity ball my mom attended a few years ago." Jam apologized.

"And you didn't think to tell me this fucking piece of information!?" Lex argued. Here he could have been talking with Sherrie this whole time and Jam had been holding out on him!

"Look dude, I'm sorry. It's not like we were allowed to write to each other that often anyway, our letters were usually screened by her uncle!" Sherrie nodded in agreement, an apologetic look on her face.

Trip, who had been watching the exchange, elbowed Hawk as if he'd had an epiphany,

"Yo Hawk, I just realized something! It's Cherry!" He laughed as if he knew something the others didn't. Hawk looked at his friend in mock astonishment,

"Holy shit Sherlock, you've cracked the case wide open!" He said sarcastically, Trip looked down, hurt by the comment. Sherrie overheard the comment and replied haughtily,

"Hawk, don't be such a dick, it took you two class periods before you realized it was me and you looked me right in the face!" Trip started laughing at him and Hawk looked back defeatedly at him,

"Shut up, man."

Lex was still a little hurt by the fact that two of his best friends hadn't bothered to tell him that they had been writing to each other, but that was forgotten when Sherrie snatched up the crumpled white sheet with his class schedule printed on it and looked over the classes he was taking.

"Hey look, we have English together, that's something right?" She asked, smiling prettily at him. He nodded, though his negative mind couldn't help but remind him that that wasn't until tomorrow and his shoulders slumped at the realization.

After they had gotten the greetings out of the way, lunch went on as usual.

"Here Lex, you can have my tater tots, my milk did spill all over your tray after all..." Jam said as he reached over to pour the sad excuses for potatoes onto one of the nearby napkins. Lex couldn't say he was partial to tater tots, but he was grateful for them nonetheless, "Thanks Jam." He said, glaring at Trip who was sitting at the opposite end of the table and seemed oblivious to the exchange as he stared at Sherrie's clearly visible rack. A sense of brotherly protectiveness came over him at the sight, and he did a double take when he realized why Trip was so fascinated, '_Whoa, wait a second is she even allowed to wear that!? What kind of grandmother lets their granddaughter prance around in such tight, suggestive clothing!'_ He thought, realizing he was starting to sound like Jam's mom and was openly ogling her in front of everybody. He immediately averted his eyes and went back to his tater tots, half-listening to Trip jabber on about the acid his cousin brought back from Mexico. His thoughts were interrupted when Sherrie started loading the blueberries from her fruit salad onto the part of his tray that wasn't drenched in milk. "Here, have them, I don't really like them anyway." She said, smiling at him secretively as she went back to her own meal. He looked at her, stunned, what was she talking about? She loved blueberries! Blueberry pie was her favorite! Then again, now that he thought about it, blueberries were the only fruit he liked to eat as a child, so maybe that was why she used to eat them? He couldn't believe she had remembered that... When she walked in, he thought she'd be just like every other high maintenance girl when really her personality hadn't really changed. Sure she was softer around the edges and a lot easier on the eyes but she was still the same old Sherrie he knew from their childhood. Though there were a few things that had changed while she was away and he could honestly say he was relieved. Her posture was different, instead of slumping over like a hunchbacked munchkin-and she was a munchkin compared to him- her back was ruler straight, her shoulders squared off. Even the way she ate her food was different! She had once not given a shit about good posture or the fact that the way she slurped her food reminded him of a pig who'd been given a pile of slop. Now she ate her food daintily and carefully, patting her mouth with a napkin when necessary. He was taken aback by the graceful sight, suddenly self-conscious about the messiness of his eating space when he realized he was in the presence of a real lady. If table manners were this natural to her now, then that debutante school must have really beaten the crudeness out of her. He reasoned, wishing he hadn't just imagined her bent over a desk while she was spanked by one of her teachers.

_"Oh no, please sir, I promise I'll be good!"_ She squealed in his fantasy. He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear away the thoughts and tried to think of something that would make his now obvious erection go away. In middle school, Sherrie had been like one of the boys, she ate like them, walked like them, talked like them, even shared the same interests as them. This may have been the reason why she never had any girlfriends, or boyfriends for that matter. The girls in their class usually avoided her as if associating with her would turn them into lesbians and the boys never dated her because her fashion sense made her look like a dude. As of now that was a thing of the past, whereas before people had distanced themselves from her, now they couldn't wait to hang out with her. Lex wanted to laugh out loud at the perplexed faces of the guys on their football team. They were obviously wondering why a girl like Sherrie was sitting with a bunch of stoners.

"So..." Sherrie began, "Did you guys ever get any gigs outside of Lex's basement?" She asked. Everybody was silent after she'd asked the question. "I guess that's a no." She said disappointedly. Trip spoke up,

"Well, we did have this one gig..." He said laughingly before Hawk kicked him underneath the table, glaring at him in an attempt to shut him up. "Ow man, what did you do that for?" He whined, rubbing his leg.

"Because it wasn't really a gig Trip, stop making shit up!" Hawk argued defensively. Sherrie frowned in confusion,

"Huh?" She asked and Lex smiled across the table at Hawk when he realized that Hawk didn't want Sherrie to know that he fainted on stage before they had played a single song. Hawk gave him a look that said,

_'Don't you fucking dare!'_ Sherrie turned to look at Lex,

"What does he mean by 'it wasn't really a gig'?" Lex shrugged, feigning innocence,

"I don't know, we must've been high or something..." He answered nonchalantly, going back to eating his blueberries. Sherrie nodded as if accepting his answer,

"Yeah, I expected as much. So have you guys gotten any better or is Hawk still tone deaf?" She smiled teasingly at him while Jam and Trip tried to control their laughter. Hawk smirked, his eyes lit with animosity as he looked back at Sherrie,

"Fuck you rich girl, I'd like to hear you try and sing something!" He challenged and she smirked back at him,

"Okay then," she leaned forward, "friday after school we'll meet at Lex's house and I'll show you how a lead singer is supposed to sound." Trip and Jam both guffawed loudly at Sherrie's remark.

"Damn Hawk, Cherry burned you good!" Trip shouted, his fists clenched in excitement. Sherrie didn't react to the hated nickname this time, instead she just smiled. Hawk's expression nearly faltered at her confidence, but he smiled back when he realized she was probably bluffing,

"We'll see." Lex watched the exchange silently, noticing that this wasn't like any kind of argument Hawk and Sherrie had had in the past. If anything, Hawk looked like he was enjoying himself. Lex found himself wishing that he was in his friend's position, just inches away from Sherrie's glossy-pink pout. He looked down at his lap, '_Son of a bitch._' He thought when he realized his problem had reasserted itself. Just then the bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class. He was fucked. He got up and used his history book to cover himself up. The others pushed their trays away and said their goodbyes as they hurried off to class. Sherrie leaned towards him for what he thought was a handshake but what was actually a hug and he ended up embarrassing himself when he accidentally groped her chest. He could have sworn that her face had turned five different shades of red, her eyes wide like saucers.

"Uh, sorry!" He said hurriedly, "I guess I'll see you later!" With that statement he left the cafeteria as quickly as possible.

Seriously guys, I am really nothing like how I write, I'm really a nice person. I would really appreciate constructive criticism if you want to give it...or just straight up praise. But, please no flames about character pairings or the OCs themselves, that isn't really fair criticism. However, if you think my main character is turning into a Mary Sue, please by all means inform me of this! Anyway, please leave me a review if you liked it or you want to suggest something and thank you for reading!


	4. Stop Reading Start Doing Push-ups

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post this sooner, school started up again and I've been super busy and haven't really had time to work on this. I am only halfway through the next chapter so I have no idea when I'm going to post that but anyway I'll shut up and let you read chappie 4!

Warning: As usual, coarse language, sexual suggestiveness

Disclaimer: I do not own Detroit Rock City, the chapter title was inspired by the band, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.

Chapter 4

Stop Reading, Start doing Pushups

'_God could you be more of an idiot?'_ Sherrie thought as she watched Lex practically scramble for the cafeteria door. '_He was reaching for a handshake and you tried to hug_ _him like some clingy girl who just had her first crush!'_ She was reminded by that one action that she and Lex had stopped hugging each other after grade school. After that, their reasoning was that they had better be dating each other if they were giving each other hugs. She felt so stupid as she walked to gym class, if Hawk and Trip were still immature assholes, what made her think that Lex would be any different? She had wanted to die when she realized that Jam had never told Lex about the letters. Not to mention the fact that she had wanted to wring Jam's neck for the first time in her life. She and Lex hadn't called or written to each other at all in the past two years, her uncle had made sure to cut off any so-called 'detestable' company that she had previously kept. He'd reasoned that if she was to be introduced into high society, it would simply not do to have any lower class leeches clinging onto her reputation. In her opinion, her uncle James was a huge pretentious dick who had control over her grandmother's fortune. The only way she had gotten permission to come back to Cleveland was if she agreed to attend the debutante balls and mingle with the rest of high society once every few months. If she fell back into her old ways she was to be deported back to Massachusetts immediately and she was never to see her friends again or even write to Jam, however minuscule a privilege that was... However, Sherrie felt that if she had been able to call or write to Lex she may have been more adequately prepared to meet him again. She and Lex had been friends practically since birth, if anything, she should feel nothing but safe and comfortable with him. He was like the older brother she'd never had. She used to share everything with him, secrets, crushes, fears, in fact, he was the only person she'd ever told about her crush on Paul Stanley and like any true friend he had kept her secret loyally. Not that it was so much a secret anymore, she thought as she looked down at her Kiss themed backpack, Starchild stapled proudly to the front. But now when she saw Lex she felt nervous and found it hard to control her heartbeat. And damn her newfound propensity to blush! He must have thought she was so lame! She hung her head in shame as she walked into the girls' locker room to prepare for gym class, sighing in annoyance when she realized that she shared her gym class with Lacey Wright. '_Just what I need to_ _make this day better!_' She thought sarcastically. Lacey stood in the middle of the locker room, the center of attention as usual. Her perfect body was put on display as she changed into her gym uniform, showing off a slim, tanned body with not an ounce of fat on it. Her brightly colored lingerie included a pushup bra that tried in vain to elevate her from her "flat as a board" status. Sherrie felt nauseated as the girls in their class looked up at her as if she were some sort of deity, envious of her popularity as they hung on every word she spoke. Sherrie rolled her eyes at the sight and went to her newly acquired locker. It was then that Lacey noticed her presence and halted her story.

"Hey look girls, you remember Miss Cherry Pie don't you?" She asked coyly, startling the rest of the girls when they realized whom she was talking about. Sherrie ignored the comment as she changed into her gym clothes, Lacey could run her mouth all she wanted, Sherrie wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing her react. She could hear the girls gossiping about her as they watched her undress.

"That's Sherrie Merle?"

"No way...wasn't Sherrie Merle a skinny burnout girl? That can't be her!"

"Yeah, I thought Sherrie Merle hung out with those pot smoking losers, this girl looks nothing like her!" They argued back and forth until Lacey finally spoke up.

"You're wrong girls, it is her, and she does still hang out with those losers!" She shouted across the room, trying to get Sherrie's attention, "She might look like us, but she can't hide who she really is!" Sherrie braced herself for an onslaught of hateful comments, clenching her hands into fists, a torrent of anger and shame welling up inside of her. She turned around, half-dressed, and was about to reply to Lacey's jab when she was interrupted by an unlikely ally.

"Shut your mouth Lacey Wright! You're just jealous because you weren't good enough to make it onto the cheerleading squad!" Lacey sneered as she looked down her nose at the girl who was standing between her and Sherrie, Sherry Vanhoften. Lacey scoffed at the comment, obviously she had no comebacks for the haughty cheerleader,

"Whatever, class is about to start anyway." She said as she exited the room. Sherry sighed as she turned back to Sherrie whom had a confused look on her face. 'Sherry Vanhoften coming to my rescue? But, she's a cheerleader...' Sherry Vanhoften was nice for a cheerleader, but not nice enough to associate with burnouts. She was head cheerleader for the RFK Beavers and if Sherrie recalled, Lex had had a crush on her since the second grade. The confession hadn't bothered her before when she had thought of him as no more than a brother, but now it made her green with envy. Sherry Vanhoften was a dewey-eyed, angel-faced girl with a bright smile that spotted her apple cheeks with dimples. Her family was well off and they were easily the richest people in Ohio, something which had gained her instant popularity. Though having the same first name, Sherry Vanhoften spelt hers with a 'y'. Sherrie had argued numerous times with Hawk that it would make more sense if she had her loathsome nickname. He had replied with, '_But that Sherry's hot!_' which she followed up with a fierce beating from one of her converse shoes. The confusion of her interference didn't go away until Sherry spoke,

"So...Sherrie, I guess our grandparents know each other..." She began.

'_Oh, so that's it...'_ Sherrie thought, '_it's a rich person thing.'_

"My grandparents heard from your grandma that you were coming to our school and told me to look out for you. My advice, stay as far away from Lacey Wright as possible." Sherrie nodded,

"Yeah, no shit, but thanks for the help." Sherrie turned back to her locker to finish pulling her hair back, turning back around when she noticed Sherry was still there, "Did you want something?" Sherrie asked. Sherry was smiling at her excitedly,

"I just wanted to ask, do you really know Farrah Fawcett? And if so would you be willing to introduce me?" Sherrie was taken aback by the question, '_Farrah Fawcett?'_ She thought as she realized that Sherry was a huge fan. Her blonde highlights and feathered hair clearly showed that. Sherrie stumbled over her words as she tried to think of a way to let her down easily. The rumors had gotten way out of hand.

The bell rang just then and Sherry gasped,

"Sorry, I've gotta go! Maybe I'll see you around?" She asked. Sherrie nodded,

"Uh, yeah maybe..." She said before leaning down to tie her white, uniform tennis shoes.'_That was weird...'_ She thought, still perplexed by the encounter.

6 _years ago, Sunday School, 1972_

_Sherrie sat crying in a corner as the kids played around her, she knew she didn't belong here. She belonged out in the sunshine playing baseball, beating the boys at their own game, not sitting around in a frilly pink dress trying to fit animal figurines inside of a toy ark! Mrs. Bruce was teaching their Sunday school class again and like usual, her son, Jeremiah was the center of attention. Sherrie didn't like him, he was a wuss. He knew all of the bible stories by heart and the seniors at their church called him a little angel. In contrast, Sherrie was often described as a little demon. She had trouble sitting still for too_ l_ong, she pushed other kids around and she didn't have the patience to memorize the stories or the hymns. She had her head in her knees as tears flowed down her cheeks, **'I just wanna go home**!' She thought. Her mom wouldn't listen and always made her go. It wasn't fair! Lex's mom didn't make him go to church! She continued to cry until someone tapped her on her shoulder_,

"_Why are you crying?" The voice asked. She looked up to glare at whoever had disturbed her to come face to face with the fair-haired cherub himself._

_"Go away wussy! It's none of your business!" She shouted harshly. He looked a little hurt by the remark,_

_"But you're sitting over here by yourself, and I'm not a wussy!" He said indignantly._

_"So what if I'm sitting by myself? I wanna be alone..." She said sadly._

_"Why? Everyone else is having a good time...is this because Mr. Martin called you a devil?" Jeremiah asked. Sherrie scrunched up her face in remembrance,_

_"That crotchety old man wouldn't know a devil if it bit him in the ass!" She said angrily. Jeremiah started laughing abashedly, covering his mouth with his hands,_

_"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" She shrunk back into the wall in surprise, suddenly a little embarrassed,_

_"Yes..." She answered, smiling as he laughed harder. She wiped the tears from her face, suddenly forgetting what she was upset about._

_"What's your name anyway? I know you've been coming here for a while but I never got the chance to talk to you." He asked. She hesitated before replying,_

_"Sherrie...my name's Sherrie Merle." Jeremiah took her hand in his, kissing the back of her hand like some kind of fairy tale prince,_

"_It's a pleasure my lady, Jeremiah Bruce, at your service." He said, reciting a line he'd heard from some movie. She blushed before knocking him over in embarrassment._

_"Don't be such a wussy!" She exclaimed as she ran out of the room, her face as red as a tomato._

Jam sat in gym class surrounded by the rest of his peers as he listened to his gym teacher talk about how they were going to join the girls' class for running. It was only the first day and the jocks and guidos had already started giving him shit. Not like being called a pussy was anything new, Trip and Hawk always ragged on him for being the 'wussy sensitive guy', a phrase that was actually coined by Sherrie when they were little kids. He knew she never meant anything by it, she had always been a really guarded person, and her insults were the only way that she knew how to deal with her emotions. He'd had a crush on her when they were kids, mostly because she was so different from the children that his mother socialized him with. Sherrie was crude and rebellious, an alluring and potentially dangerous combination for a boy who'd been told since birth that he was to obey the rules and regulations of society or his soul would be sent straight to Hell. His mother loathed her, and had even gone so far as to say she was the devil's spawn until she met Sherrie's grandmother at a Christian charity function a few months after Sherrie moved away. His mom's attitude about Sherrie changed quickly when her grandmother offered to pay a ludicrous amount of money to their church. It was then that they exchanged addresses and his mother started encouraging him to write to her, saying that she was happy he had at least one friend who was going to make something of herself. He had stared at her in disbelief but instead of arguing, had gotten started on the letters, glad that one of his best friends was no longer lost to him.

The doors to the gym opened then, interrupting his thoughts,

'_Speak of the devil._' He thought humorously as Sherrie and the girls' gym class walked into the room. Sherrie had definitely changed over the two years she was away and he couldn't lie, she had filled out nicely. The bright, orange-red gym shorts accentuated her long, shapely legs, the uniform knee-high socks making them seem even longer. Jam seriously questioned the high school P.E. uniform, the girls'-and boys'-shorts left almost nothing to the imagination. If they were any shorter, the only places they'd be appropriate for would be a porno or the red light district. Jam realized he'd been staring when he noticed she was smiling at him awkwardly. She waved to get his attention. He waved back, a little embarrassed. The boys' gym teacher, Coach Wigby suddenly called him out,

"Mr. Bruce, now that you're done making goo-goo eyes at your girlfriend, perhaps you can drop down and give me 20!" He shouted, his frontal vein protruding in anger. The other boys in his class started laughing at him and Sherrie winced, feeling apologetic. "What are you maggots laughing at?" He asked, the question making the boys immediately go silent.

"Uh, 20 what sir?" Jam asked, dazed. The other boys bit their lips and covered their mouths to keep from laughing and to avoid the wrath of their gym teacher, a veteran navy seal.

"20 pushups Bruce! Are you deaf or just stupid!?" Jam dropped to the floor immediately. Sherrie looked at him from across the room,

"**Sorry...**" She mouthed, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. Jam shook his head before mouthing back,

"**It's okay.**" Coach Wigby pushed him down to the floor with his foot to remind him to start. The other boys counted until he was finished, the girls' class giggling at his sad excuses for pushups. '_Damn, it's only the first day of school and already I'm suffering abject humiliation...' _He thought, less than happy as he fell in line with the other boys to start jumping jacks.

It wasn't until the last 30 minutes of class that the boys were able to mingle with the girls for running. Sherrie stayed behind to wait for Jam, knowing he wasn't much of a runner.

"Hey." She greeted when he caught up with her.

"Hey Sherrie." He said, exhausted. She cringed as she remembered what happened earlier.

"Sorry for getting you in trouble by the way." She apologized. He shook his head,

"Really, you don't have to apologize, it's no big deal." He said, gasping for breath as he tugged his yellow shirt away from his sweat drenched body in an attempt to cool off.

"So...Jam..." She said slowly, testing out his new name on her tongue, "what's been happening? Anything exciting happen since I've been gone?" She asked. While it was true that they had been almost like pen pals, Jam wasn't allowed to divulge any information about the band without Sherrie getting into trouble with her uncle. He smiled at her question,

"Well..." He hesitated, should he really tell her that she missed out on a Kiss concert?

"Well what?" She asked, suddenly interested. He smiled sheepishly, feeling guilty,

"We did go to a kick-ass concert a few months ago." He paused for a few moments and her face fell when she realized,

"No way, you guys got to see Kiss!? And in Detroit no less!?" She was beyond jealous as she watched Jam shrug in apology. Being a huge Kiss fan, of course Sherrie had heard about Detroit Rock City, and being the granddaughter of someone in high society, of course she wasn't allowed to go!

"Ugh, you guys suck balls!" She shouted obscenely and Jam laughed at her crudeness, realizing just how much he'd missed it. "Please tell me you guys were able to get backstage!" Jam thought for a moment,

"Well, Lex kind of did, but he wasn't able to meet the band..." Jam elaborated on the story, recounting the road trip that had started out as the worst day of his life.

They were heading back to the locker rooms when he was mostly finished, Sherrie looking disgruntled.

"Dammit," She sighed, "I can't believe I missed all of that! It must have been so awesome to see them live..." She said forlornly, "I give up my left boob to see Paul Stanley sing 'Hold me, Touch me'..." Jam chuckled, giving her a strange look,

"Why just the left one?" Sherrie gave him a deadpanned look,

"Don't you know that most girls' racks are asymmetrical?" Jam's eyes widened and he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably,

"Sorry but I don't think a lot of guys notice that type of thing when they're looking at boobs." She shrugged in agreement,

"That is true, you're the most concerned with whether or not you're gonna get laid! And speaking of getting laid...you and Beth finally shacked up together, congratulations! Although I still can't believe it happened, you look like the type who waits for marriage." She teased. He pretended to be offended,

"Hey, lay off...Cherry!" He said, poking fun at her nickname. She gasped, Jam had never dared to call her that before and she laughed at his bravado,

"You bastard! I see that Hawk has taught you the ways of the asshole!" He chuckled back at her remark,

"Nah, it was Beth that taught me that." He said nonchalantly. Sherrie's eyes went wide at the sexually suggestive comment, a faint blush coming to her cheeks, Jam was bewildered by the sight,

"Jeremiah, you're not supposed to say these things..." She whispered, shocked. Jam laughed at her demeanor.

"I was just kidding!" She smiled, still taken aback by his abnormal behavior.

"Anyhow, I'm glad that you and Beth finally hooked up, your unattainable crush bullshit was getting a little sad, not to mention nauseating." He mumbled to himself,

"You're one to talk..."

"What was that?" He held up his hands in surrender,

"Ah, nothing, it's nothing!" While telling her about their road trip, he had intentionally left out the part about Christine, knowing that it might have riled her up, or worse, crushed her spirits. Lex and Christine were an item now, something that Jam felt Lex needed to tell Sherrie himself. Sherrie and Lex had always been extremely close and Jam suspected that Sherrie held strong feelings for him, but he doubted that she'd ever admit it. He wished to do nothing more than spare her feelings if it was at all possible. The two parted ways when they got to the locker rooms, promising to meet in the morning by the lockers.

'_I_ _can't believe I just felt up my best friend...'_ Lex thought, hanging his head in his hands as he sulked in the back corner of his study hall. '_What the hell is wrong with you man?_ _She wanted a hug, not a handshake_!' Sherrie had wanted a hug and he was ready to shake her hand like she was the goddamned governor! He had learned real quick that she wasn't the tomboy from his past, she was a lady...a girl. The notion that Sherrie was a girl had never crossed his mind in the past, she had just been his best friend, his little sister... Now certain parts of his body wanted her to be more than that. He looked down at the bulge in his pants, it had been there for over an hour, and no matter what he did, his thoughts always strayed back to Sherrie. He had never thought of her that way before, in fact he had once been repulsed at the thought, thinking of her like his blood relative. He banged his head down on his desk in distress, wincing at the sudden pain. The study hall teacher looked at him questioningly and he smiled back sheepishly. He sighed as he looked back down at his collection of syllabai, overhearing Hawk and Trip's conversation behind him,

"So, do you think I have a chance with Sherrie man?" Trip asked. Hawk was busy carving his name into the corner of his desk with a small razor blade when he looked up in disbelief, smiling wryly,

"Are you shitting me? She's a fuckin' celebrity now, do you really think she'd look twice at someone like you?" Lex winced at the comment, even for Hawk, that was a little harsh. Trip became angry at the comment,

"Hey man, you're just jealous because now she's hot and you don't have a chance with her because she never liked you in the first place!" Trip whispered indignantly. Hawk smiled arrogantly, unable to help himself as he turned around to face his lanky friend,

"Oh yeah? Then why did she kiss me in biology?" He spat, no longer caring about the threats Sherrie had laid out in detention. Lex's eyes widened at that last statement,

'_What!?_' he thought as he turned around to face his two friends,

"You're a fucking liar! She did not!" Trip argued, banging his fist down on the desk. Hawk smirked, ready to refute Trip's statement when he was interrupted by Lex,

"What do you mean she kissed you in biology?" Lex asked, he didn't believe him either, Sherrie and Hawk's aversion to one another was so intense, that whenever they were together they always ended up fighting. They usually butted heads like a couple of raging bulls, something that made him seriously doubt that Hawk was telling the truth. Hawk smirked,

"It's exactly what it sounds like." He simply said and Trip shook his head angrily. Lex narrowed his eyes at him, wondering if he'd have to defend Sherrie's reputation from the arrogant burnout,

"She kissed _you_ huh?" Hawk cleared his throat, starting to feel uncomfortable under Lex's penetrating gaze,

"Well, it didn't happen exactly that way, I actually kissed _her_..."

"_You_ kissed _her_?" Lex asked and Hawk shrugged, feeling like he was under interrogation. Trip nodded laughing,

"Yeah, and she probably smacked him pretty hard afterwards too..." He said, laughing. Hawk glared back at him,

"Shut the fuck up, Trip! She might have smacked me but I could tell she liked it!" Hawk pouted. Lex and Trip started laughing at him as he turned back around and continued to rigorously carve his name into his desk in an attempt to block the other two out. Lex shook his head and turned back around, it was as he thought, when it came to Sherrie and Hawk, he had nothing to worry about.

Sherrie sighed as she waited out in the parking lot for Carlton, the chauffeur, to show up with the Bentley. Her last class, home economics, had passed without incident. She shared the class with Sherry Vanhoften, whom without missing a beat had volunteered to be her cooking partner. She still obviously thought that Sherrie knew Farrah Fawcett and had gabbed on and on about Farrah's antics in the latest Charlie's Angels episode. Sherrie was unable to get a word in edgewise, let alone explain to the girl that she and the actress had never met. The bell hadn't rung soon enough and Sherrie was out the door faster than the cheerleader could blink.

She kicked a stray pebble into the street as she thought about her day. It could have gone better, that's for sure, but it was still pretty great having all of the popular boys who avoided her in middle school think that they had a chance with her. And on top of that, she finally gave that spoiled diva, Lacey Wright, a piece of her mind. She began to dwell on the less desirable parts of her day and was wondering if this one detention would get her deported when she saw Lex coming her way. Her eyes widened in surprise and she quickly brushed her fingers through her hair and checked her breath for any unpleasantness. She halted in her actions when she realized what she was doing and shook her head.

'_What are you doing idiot? This is your best friend remember? Do you really think he cares if your hair is messed up or if you have bad breath?_' She cleared her throat as he came closer and she turned to face him, forcing herself to put on a smile. He looked up as she turned around, scratching the back of his neck nervously. She smiled shyly at him,

"Hi Lex." She said. He smiled back at her, his soulful brown eyes gazing at her fondly,

"Hi Sherrie." He replied. An awkward silence settled over them and Lex forgot the reason why he'd come over there in the first place.

"Ahem." Sherrie prompted when he said nothing, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She teased, her eyes full of mischief. He stared listlessly at the playful expression before he was rudely tugged out of his reverie by her knuckles knocking on his forehead, "Hello? Anybody home?" She giggled at his startled expression,

"Oh! Um, so I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier..."

"You wanted to apologize for copping a feel?" She laughed and he flushed crimson red in embarrassment.

"Yeah, about that-"

"It's fine, I forgive you, I know it was an accident." She bit her lips to keep herself from laughing as he sighed in relief. "Now come here." She said, surprising him as she leaned in and hugged him around the waist. He wrapped his long arms around her small form in response, breathing in deeply as he caught a whiff of her perfume,

'_Is that jasmine?'_ he thought, the smell reminding him of the incense candles his mom sometimes burned when she was feeling emotionally distressed.

"I missed you." She whispered into his chest, her arms still tight around him. He gulped when he realized he could feel all of the intimate curves of her body, he had to remind himself that he had a girlfriend and that looking down his best friend's cleavage was inappropriate. He felt himself getting excited again and reluctantly broke the embrace, startling her,

"I missed you too, Sherrie." He said huskily, trying to cover up the reason why he had hurriedly pushed her away. She looked at him with an expression akin to hurt and he felt incredibly guilty. He covered himself with one of his books, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said, beginning to walk away when he saw something that looked like disappointment on her face.

"Yeah, I guess..." She replied, looking down at the ground again. He halted in his movements when he noticed how letdown she looked,

'_You have a girlfriend, you have a girlfriend, walk away Lexy boy!'_ His conscience screamed. Yet at that moment, he couldn't even remember what Christine looked like, let alone imagine what she would have thought of him if she was there right now. In fact, he and Christine rarely got chances to go out seeing as they lived in different counties and neither of them owned their own car, it was an affair created on the spur of the moment and Lex was starting to doubt the resilience of such a relationship.

"You _are_ coming back tomorrow right?" He asked hurriedly, suddenly afraid that he might have influenced her decision to return to the east coast. She looked at him in surprise,

"Of course I am." He brightened at the response,

"Good." Her face lit up at the remark, and he stumbled over his words at the sight of her smile, "Well, you know, I haven't seen you in two years and that's like an eternity in friend years!" He winced at the stupidity of his last statement. '"_Friend years"_?' There was absolutely no blood going to his brain. She laughed at the strange statement,

"Yeah, I guess so!" She looked up at him as if she'd thought of something, "Hey, you know that old burger place where you and I used to hang out after school?" His eyes widened as he remembered,

"Archie's? Yeah of course!" She looked up at him bashfully, uncharacteristic for Sherrie,

"So I was wondering if friday after school..." She paused, afraid of rejection,

"You want to get bottomless fries right?" Lex finished, smiling knowingly. She laughed nervously,

"Well, only if you want to." Lex was taken aback, the old Sherrie would have said something like, "_Yeah, and you'd better say yes unless you want my fist to connect with_ _your groin!"_ This new Sherrie was considerate of others, it was weird to say the least. He felt like he was talking to a girl version of Jam...but it was a good thing. He nodded his head in agreement,

"Of course I want to." She beamed at his response,

"Okay..." Her smile disappeared as she realized something, "Oh and this isn't like a date or anything okay? It's just two friends catching up! Don't make it into anything it's not!" She pointed her finger at him threateningly, her blue eyes glaring back at him beneath a veil of luscious lashes. Yup, that was the Sherrie he knew. She turned back to the street when she noticed her grandmother's Bentley coming up the drive.

"Is this your ride?" Lex asked, sounding impressed. Sherrie was suddenly embarrassed by the extravagance of the vehicle,

"...yeah." she said simply, watching as a young chauffeur about twenty-eight years of age climbed out of the driver's side. Lex looked the young man up and down dubiously, he was a skinny ginger man though older, at the right angle, he looked to be about eighteen. He wore a smart, navy-blue uniform decorated with gold buttons and cufflinks and embroidered in what Lex suspected was thread crafted from the finest gold money could buy. The man's uniform was complete with a cap that reminded Lex of something a military officer would wear. The man smiled courteously at him before crossing to the other side of the car, his shiny, heeled boots making a clicking sound as he opened the second passenger side door and gestured for Sherrie to get in. He tipped his hat,

"Miss Winters, if you would be so kind as to tell your gentleman friend a swift goodbye, your grandmother awaits your presence back at the estate." He said with a slight cockneyed English accent, his eyes silently pleading with her to go along with his request. Sherrie nodded,

"I-I'll be right there." She stuttered, turning back to Lex who was staring at the scene, slack-jawed. She tried to ignore the sight, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." She said, looking at him expectantly and hoping he wouldn't make fun of the chauffeur or shun her because of the extravagance of the automobile. He nodded slowly, still speechless and unsure of how to process the scene. On one hand, he wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness and the stuffiness of the driver, on the other, he felt like he should bow or kneel in respect as if he were in the presence of goddamn royalty! He suddenly became hyperaware of the class his family resided in as he looked down at what he himself was wearing, a brand new black and white Kiss t-shirt stained with milk and a pair of worn out bellbottom jeans. His shaggy, greasy black hair didn't help matters as he ran his fingers through it self-consciously. He cleared his throat, sincerely hoping that speaking to Sherrie Winters wouldn't get him beheaded, or worse, get Sherrie deported back to Massachusetts.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Sherrie." He said hesitantly, eyeing the driver. She smiled, satisfied with his response,

"Bye Lex." She said simply as she got into the expensive ride, Lex wondered at the sad look that came over her face. The chauffeur closed the car door and then strode over to him as if he'd realized something,

"You must be Master Lex." He said. Lex narrowed his eyes at the man, cautiously assessing the situation, nobody had ever addressed him as 'master' before,

"Who wants to know?" Lex replied cautiously. The driver laughed, putting his hands up as if defending himself from a cornered tiger,

"I mean no harm, I know you're a good friend of Miss Winters, she's told me about you on more than one occasion and it's refreshing to finally meet you." He extended his hand in greeting, "The name's Carlton, Carlton Hemingsworth the third, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Master Lex." He finished as he shook Lex's hand. The man seemed genuinely happy to meet him, but Lex couldn't fathom why. Especially when said man worked for some of the richest people in America. Compared to Sherrie's family, Lex and his mom were poorer than dirt.

"Yeah, same here, but it's just Lex, no 'master'." He replied, uncomfortable with everything that was happening.

"I apologize sir, it's an old habit."

"...right." Carlton fixed the lapels on his jacket before turning back to the Bentley,

"Well then, I'd better be getting back to the estate, Madame Winters will be quite cross with me if I show up late." The man paused before tipping his hat, "Good day to you sir!" Lex, feeling awkward, and unsure of what to do in this situation, saluted him like an American soldier salutes their commanding officer. He shook his head at the action, feeling ridiculous as he watched the Bentley drive away, the silver fenders glinting in the fading sunlight. Sherrie turned around in her seat and waved at him from the back seat, a melancholy look on her face. He waved back, smiling wryly. He looked up at the sky in resentment, the powers that be had just made him realize how insignificant he was in her life now. Here he was thinking that he actually had a chance with her, when in reality, she was way out of his league.

I sincerely apologize for the Sherry/Sherrie thing. I realize it must have been confusing. I failed to realize that there was already a character called Sherry in the movie. The reason I included her here is because Lex mentioned in the movie that he'd had a crush on her since second grade, insinuating that he had known her since then or even before then. If Lex had known her then I figured Sherrie probably knew her too. I thought it would be strange if Sherrie never came in contact with the head cheerleader, especially if Sherrie was the topic of most conversations. Now that that's done, please leave me a review and tell me what you thought! I'll be awaiting your words with baited breath!


	5. Rock Hard

Hey guys! So school has been keeping me super busy and I haven't had time to write much...I'm sorry this took so long to update!

Anyway, on a lighter note, thanks to all of you who reviewed this story in person and the one who left me a review online! I really appreciate it! Feedback helps motivate me to write and it lets me know that you guys like what you are reading! And without further ado, here we go!

Warning: Sexual Content, Coarse Language, nudity, lots of flashbacks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own characters and plot. The Chapter title is inspired by the Kiss song of the same name.

Chapter 5

Rock Hard

9 _years ago, Cleveland, Ohio, 1969_

_The_ _sun was setting and the alley was dark, filled with the sounds of fearful sobs and antagonizing growls. The black and white pitbull gnashed it's teeth, it's eyes like two bottomless pits without mercy. Lex shielded the small form behind him as he stared down the vicious animal, his entire being gripped with fear. _

_"Lexie..." The girl behind him whimpered, her little hands fisted in his t-shirt. He turned around to adhere to the sound, keeping an eye fixed on the angry dog. Sherrie was crouched down in a hiding position behind him, her body wracked with tremors as she looked up at him wide-eyed with her doll-like gaze, "I'm scared!" She cried, tears flowing down her face as she wrapped her arms around his leg in a death-grip. Lex turned back to the dog with a glare of determination, his small, childish form taking on a fighting stance, _

_"I promise I won't let anything happen to you Sherrie! I'll protect you..." He said, closing his eyes and bracing himself as the dog reared up and charged him..._

Lex sprung up in bed, his body covered in a cold sweat. He gasped for air, shivering as memories of that day came back full force. Fear and anxiety welled up inside of him and he found himself searching his dark, basement room for signs of the black and white pitbull that haunted his psyche. He pushed the thin, printed sheets away from his sweat-slicked body, once again coming face to face with the shallow grooves that marked his right thigh. He gently fingered the grotesque scars, remembering the intense pain as the dog's teeth tore into his skin, the pressure of it's jaw as it had bitten down harder when he'd attempted to free himself. 'Fucker...' He thought, hating the creature with all of his being. He figured he must have had the dream because of Sherrie's reappearance, it was her fault that he had ended up in the situation in the first place. He grimaced as he remembered what had happened earlier that afternoon...

_1969 earlier that afternoon, the day of the dog attack_

_"What are you doing dummy? You know Brutus doesn't like kids..." Lex admonished, trying to coax Sherrie away from the picket fence. Yeah, the dog's name was Brutus, it was a damn fitting name considering what the bastard could do to a human limb..._

_"Maybe he just needs a friend!" Sherrie said hopefully, pulling away the board that he imagined she had worked all day to loosen. Sherrie had always wanted a pet, but her mom could never afford to keep one, she could barely afford to keep her and Sherrie fed. He watched as she stuck her head through the hole in the fence and called out to the dog, "Here Brutus!" She called, whistling for him, "Here boy! I've got some tasty treats for ya!" She smiled happily, holding up a box of dog treats that she had obviously taken from the owners' front porch. Lex had a bad feeling in his gut as he watched the small but powerful dog appear out of the shadows of it's rundown doghouse, a long, thick, silver chain attached to the brutal studded collar it wore around it's neck. Lex watched Sherrie as she held up a dog treat, the animal staring back at her with it's soulless black eyes, seemingly sizing her up to see whether or not she was friend or foe. Lex's heart was pounding in his ears as the dog got closer, it's lips pulling back over it's razor sharp teeth as it let out a snarl and ran at his foolhardy friend at full speed. Lex lunged at the small form still wedged in the fence, scraping her arm against the wood of the picket fence as he tore her away from the dangerous animal. The chain was stretched to it's limit, the dog only able to stick it's head through to growl and snap it's jaws at them. Lex sighed in relief, looking down at Sherrie to make sure she was alright. Besides the bloody scrape on her right arm, she was fine. She was shaking in his arms as she stared back at the angry dog, her lips trembling as tears flowed down her cheeks. She couldn't understand why the animal didn't like her...she wanted a dog so bad. He looked up when he heard a loud cracking sound and realized that the chain had broken and the dog was trying to break through the fence! He pulled up his distraught friend and flung her ahead of him, _

_"Run!" He shouted, sprinting after her as the monster dog wriggled it's way through the small entry._

Lex fell back into his pillows, checking the time on his clock, Gene Simmons stuck his tongue out profusely above the glowing numbers, 3:20 a.m. A rush of air left his lungs in frustration as he stared at his ceiling. There was no way he'd be able to sleep after a dream like that...

Her silken sheets were damp with sweat as they became tangled around her supple body. Her blonde hair matted to her forehead with perspiration as she rolled languidly in the sheets. Her lime green chiffon nightgown lay in a heap on her bedroom floor. Sherrie moaned as the smooth material of the bedclothes chafed against her bare skin...

_Sherrie gazed into the soft brown eyes that smiled down at her as she smoothed her hands over his bronzed, muscular chest. Her nails caught up in the waistband of his distressed jeans as she struggled to undo the Kiss belt buckle. His large hands wrapped around her wrists, pinning them back against the rumpled cotton sheets of the small bed. She gasped as she realized she was entirely exposed and completely vulnerable. He covered her body with his, trailing hot kisses from the crook of her shoulder to the shell of her ear. He parted her legs with his knee, the rough material of his jeans creating a friction against that sensitive bud. She mewled, her nails digging into his shoulders as she begged for more. "Mmm...please stop teasing me..." She pouted, her knees weakening as his teeth gently grazed her earlobe. He pulled away from her, his dark hair falling around his eyes as he stared down at her predatorily. _

_"Stop teasing? This is your punishment for teasing me with all those tight, revealing outfits you wear to school. Have you any idea how many hard ons you've given me in the middle of English class?" He whispered huskily and she watched him hazily as he cupped her firm breasts in his warm hands. She groaned when he lightly ran his thumbs over her hard pink nipples. His lips met her glossy red ones as he trailed a hand down towards the apex of her thighs. Her cherry lipgloss stained his face as he fought her for dominance, earning her submission when he dipped his fingers into her honey. She cried out softly as he teased her sensitive bud with his thumb, threading her fingers through his soft black hair as she begged him for release. "Ah, Lex please..." She whispered against his lips. _

_"Please what?" He asked teasingly, keeping her right on the edge. She was helpless as she looked up into his playful visage and was about to answer him when a loud ringing interrupted her thoughts..._

The antique alarm clock on her nightstand shook violently, driving Sherrie out of her dreams and back into reality. Her hand shot out from underneath the sheets, smacking the expensive gold filigree clock onto her floor. The glass on the clock face shattered, the fall from the walnut nightstand effectively shutting off the alarm. It was no problem for her grandmother, when something broke she usually just shrugged and told their butler to go out and purchase another one. Sherrie groaned in frustration, wishing she was still in the dream. She pushed the covers down over her body, exposing her bare skin to the cool morning air. She sighed as she looked down at her nearly naked form. Why didn't he like her? Were her breasts misshapen? She thought as she pressed them together and examined them, shivering when the action brought back the erotic sensations from her dreams. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, that couldn't be it! Didn't he feel the same way she did? She figured from his avoidable behavior that he didn't. whenever they were together he seemed to make it a point to put emphasis on the fact that they were 'just friends'. She didn't get it! It wasn't like he was tied down or anything! Then she got to thinking about the past. When they were younger she was treated like his kid sister and at the very most, one of the guys. She had adopted the latter persona just so she could hang out with them, they were like family to her after all. Now years later, she realized that her need to fit in was born from a wish to become closer to Lex. She had admitted to herself that even then she had a crush on him, but now it had blossomed into a maddening desire, an almost physical need that left her body aching for something her fantasies couldn't give her. She wandered over to her walk-in closet, throwing the shuttered doors open in disgrace. She pushed aside fur coats, bejeweled ball gowns and expensively tailored blouses to reach the back of her closet, a place where she kept the things she held most dear. She reached for the small converse shoebox in the shadowed corner of her wardrobe, nearly ripping open the lid in distress. Atop the childhood treasures and mementos from her mother lay an old photograph of her and Lex. Lex was clothed in a hospital gown, his right leg bandaged as he pulled an arm around her shoulders. His smile was one of relief as he pulled her close. She was blubbering like a baby in the photo, her face stained with tears as she clung to him for dear life. She had never been more grateful to have him as her friend than she was that day. Sherrie remembered the dog attack all too vividly as she had cowered behind Lex as he fought the dog off to protect her. She had but one scar from that day, merely because of her own stupidity in baiting the angry pitbull. If it weren't for Lex, she'd have more than just the ghostly white slash across her shoulder, she figured that her entire face would have needed to be reconstructed. After that incident, they were both fiercely terrified of dogs. Looking at the photo years later, she supposed that maybe they didn't need to be any more than friends, maybe that was enough...

-(CB)-

Sherrie slid behind the wheel of her brand new car, grinning as she looked over the pristine white leather seats. The beauty was a black 1970 Chevelle SS complete with white racing stripes and a convertible top. Her Grandmom gifted it to her the night before as an early birthday present. She frowned, thinking of the conversation in the moments before it was given to her.

_The night before, 8:00 p.m. _

Her uncle burst through the double doors of the elaborate dining hall, the crystal chandelier that hung over the newly polished oblong table shaking in protest to the sudden entrance. The blonde man had a shit-eating grin on his arrogant face as he glanced back at his nuisance of a niece whom was silently eating New England clam chowder; her grandmom's favorite. Sherrie looked back at him with a look of confusion,

"Why are you so happy?" She asked, it was unusual for Uncle James to smile at her, let alone be ecstatic about her presence. Her grandmom looked up at him as he came over to her side and produced a manilla folder holding the telephone records from the previous day. The elderly woman took them, looking them over before looking back at her granddaughter in concern,

"You got detention your first day of school?"

'Shit!' Alarm bells went off in Sherrie's head. She looked up hesitantly from her soup, a resolute look on her face.

"It's true, I was in detention but-"

"Sherrie darling, why didn't you tell me?" Her uncle could barely contain himself as he bit his lips to keep himself from laughing. 'Fucking prick.' Sherrie thought in annoyance.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would be disappointed-"

"Disappointed? Of you? Never!" Sherrie's expression was one of bewilderment as she stared at her grandmom. Her uncle looked confused as well, hoping he'd misheard her,

"...what?" He asked, his smile turning malicious. "Didn't you read the telephone records mother? She was in detention for kissing a boy during class! One of those filthy little friends of hers no doubt!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Sherrie argued. 'Dammit Hawk...now you've gotten me in trouble with my grandmom!' Her grandmom looked upon her kindly, gently patting her shoulder,

"I know it wasn't your fault dear, it was one of those horrible heathen boys from that dreadful public school. I understand that they don't have the same mannerisms as us dear." Sherrie couldn't find it in herself to argue that point seeing as she wasn't in trouble and technically it wasn't entirely untrue... "I'm sure that many of the young men you've met must find it hard to keep their hands off of you, and I'm sure that what they offer you may sound delightful, but you must persevere and remember to look to God for strength when those horrid boys tempt you with sins of the flesh!" She finished her grand speech, an appalled look coming over her face. Sherrie knew her grandmom was super religious and she smiled wryly, nodding her head in agreement, though the idea that Hawk was tempting her with 'sins of the flesh' was incredibly hilarious to her,

'Yeah, he wishes...' She thought, pursing her lips to keep herself from laughing. Her uncle was beyond angry with how the conversation was going,

"How do you know Sherrie didn't tempt the boy herself?" He asked spitefully. Sherrie glared at him. Grandmom laughed,

"Oh come now James, look at this face!" She grabbed Sherrie's cheeks, pinching and pulling at them so they made her face resemble a blowfish, "Does this sweet face look like it belongs to someone capable of doing something as dreadful as that?" James burst out into laughter,

"Spare me mother! I'm sure that your sweet little angel has done things that would make someone like you keel over and die of shock!"

"James mind your language! There are ladies present!" Grandmom scolded. "And yes I realize that in the past my lovely Sherrie was rough around the edges, but now she's my perfect little darling!" Sherrie cringed at the cutesy nickname,

'I hope the guys never hear about this...' she thought, dreading the thought of Trip and Hawk finding out about the horrible nickname. It was worse than being called Miss Cherry Pie and she knew she'd never hear the end of it. Uncle James sneered,

"Whatever, just take her out of that place already if you're so worried about her!" Sherrie's eyes went wide with fear. Was this it? Was she really going back to Massachusetts after only a few days? It hadn't even been a week yet and she was supposed to demonstrate her superior singing skills to Hawk tomorrow! Her grandmom must have sensed her fear and looked back and forth between Sherrie and her son,

"Now, now, I promised Sherrie I would let her continue school here as a reward for passing her debutante training. However, if a few more incidents like this happen, I'm taking her back to Massachusetts for good!" Sherrie recognized the warning in her grandmother's eyes, "I will give you three more chances Sherrie, as the saying goes, three strikes and you're out!" Sherrie smiled, relieved,

"Thank you Grandmom." She said, throwing her arms around her devout Christian grandmother. Sherrie had gotten up to excuse herself when her grandmom said that she had an early birthday present for her...her uncle was pissed to say the least.

_Present day, 1978_

The guys would be so jealous when she pulled up in this. She thought excitedly, suddenly frowning when she thought about what she said she'd do when she got her dream car: install huge ass speakers and blast rock n' roll music at top volume. None of that was happening anytime soon, not when she was a minor and under the care of her strict grandmother and her hypocrite uncle. She sighed, there was a part of her that wanted to emancipate herself from them entirely. She didn't care about the money nor the recognition it got her, not if she couldn't be herself or hang out with friends who liked her for herself versus friends who only liked her for her status. And it all meant nothing if she hadn't earned it herself, it sort of felt like cheating. She looked around at the car she was driving, even this, the car that she had wanted forever, didn't feel like it belonged to her. On the other hand, she couldn't leave her poor Grandmom, not after hearing how her mother estranged herself from the family. The old lady wasn't half bad, she had grown on her. The sweet old lady had done something her mother didn't, disciplined her and taught her manners and etiquette. She'd learned the essential life lessons she needed to make it in the real world. You know, just in case her music career didn't exactly go the way she'd wanted it to... Oh yes, she still secretly harbored plans to become a rock n' roll star. It was her lifelong dream, she'd follow through with it even if it killed her. She'd try to make her Grandmom understand, it's not like Sherrie could leave the woman with her bastard of an uncle...

Mind wandering, Sherrie failed to notice that she had run a stop sign and was about to t-bone a shiny new Volvo that had come from her left. The driver swerved his car into the next lane, almost coming into a head on collision with a pickup truck in the opposite lane. Sherrie slammed on her brakes before she hit the Volvo, ducking her head shamefully as she heard the driver of said Volvo shout at her angrily, his voice cracking with the adrenaline rush that comes with every near death experience,

"Watch where the fuck you're going asshole!" Her eyes, which had been shut tight in humiliation popped open when she recognized who the voice belonged to. She reluctantly peaked her head over the dashboard, smiling sheepishly, as she spotted him glaring at her beneath his dark aviator sunglasses,

"Good morning Lex, beautiful day today isn't it?" She laughed nervously. She could tell by the tension in his jaw that he was less than pleased.

"Yeah, it was until you almost destroyed my mom's car! What the fuck Sherrie!?" He shouted, his heart still pounding erratically from the ordeal. The pretty blonde flinched away from the violent expletives, though she boasted a short temper herself, that kind of attitude sounded scary coming from the normally quiet, reserved Lex.

"Look, I'm sorry I only looked away for a second-"

"Yeah, well you could have killed me in that second!" He shouted.

" I slammed on my brakes didn't I!?" She yelled angrily, her fuse had been lit and Lex sighed, knowing if he didn't back down now it would get ugly. '_Calm down Lex, it was an_ _accident, she reacted appropriately and you're mom's car is still in one piece. Just gotta make it to school...'_ It was then that the other drivers started to get irritated.

"Hey, stop flirting with each other and get the hell out of the road!" The guy behind him shouted. Lex looked back at him with a deadpanned expression and shifted the car into gear,

"Find me when you get to school, we need to talk." He said seriously before speeding off. She sighed, her stomach a pit of butterflies as she thought about what he might want to talk about. Sherrie had never seen him get so angry, he was usually calm and collected but for the slight underlying anxiety that he always carried with him. He'd never shouted at her like that before.

=={CB}==

Lex was rattled, anxiety caused his palms to sweat and a nervous fluttering in his stomach. It was the first time his mom had given him permission to drive the Volvo to class and he'd almost gotten into a wreck a few blocks from his house! And because of his best friend no less! Best friend...he didn't know what to think of the label after the past few days. He was agitated, frustrated, and for more than one reason. The feisty blonde seemed to tease and tempt him every chance she got. He'd held her at arms length all week, bringing up events from their past all in an attempt to remind her that she was no more than a kid sister to him. Though he didn't really believe that statement held much truth at all to him anymore. Not after he spent his last two English classes thinking about how hot she'd look in a catholic school girl uniform-gah! She was driving him insane!

He pulled the Volvo into a parking spot in front of the school and turned off the engine, sighing audibly. Today was the day he'd tell Sherrie about Christine. Jam had been bugging him about it all week, warning him that it might be disastrous if the two of them ever came in contact with each other. Come to think of it, he'd never mentioned Sherrie to Christine either, it had never really come up. Lex's thoughts were interrupted when the gorgeous Chevelle pulled up next to him, it's premium paint job sparkling under the light of the sun, the top pulled down to reveal the hot leather seats that occupied the interior of the vehicle. He would have praised the car earlier, if she hadn't almost murdered him with it. Sherrie cut out the engine, looking over at him in trepidation.

"Sorry for not paying attention, I realize I should be more careful when I'm driving a car." She didn't meet his eyes and he could sense from her stiff posture that she was worried about what he wanted to say. Lex removed his sunglasses, suddenly feeling bad for shouting at her earlier,

"It's okay, I lost my temper back there and I'm sorry, just keep your eyes on the road next time." He exited the car and Sherrie slumped in relief, she had braced herself for a fight but instead she had been gently reprimanded. She got out of the Chevelle and met him on the sidewalk. '_Okay, this is it,' _he thought, '_I've got to tell her now.'_ He opened his mouth to speak when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, telling him over and over how sorry she was, this girl of his dreams pressed her body against him and he was met with resentment and jealousy from the passing football players whom he merely smiled at. She pulled away moments later, genuinely apologetic and as he looked her in the face he realized he couldn't do it. He liked all the attention she was paying him and he liked how much closer they had become over the past few days. But if he couldn't tell her about Christine, what were his options? Should he dump Christine and date Sherrie instead? Or would that only ruin their friendship? Christ! What was he supposed to do!?

-(CB)-

Hi again! So this chapter was mostly filler and flashbacks I promise I will get to Sherrie's bet with Hawk next time! I know this one took a while and honestly most of my chapters are probably going to take about a month to write based on how busy my schedule gets. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! Leave me a review and tell me what you thought!


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